The Gandy Dancers
11/20/06
It was a chilly Saturday afternoon on 18 November and the 'Big Game' was underway between Ohio State and Michigan. And while most people were gathered around their televisions or tailgating down by the stadium, these guys were replacing old and decayed track ties. Gandy Dancer was a railroad term for a track laborer or section hand. The name may have originated from the gander-like motions of a man tamping ties, or from the Gandy Manufacturing Company of Chicago, which supposedly made tamping bars, claw bars, picks, and shovels. This section gang consisted of Phil Furrow, Chris Howell, Tom Reed, Bob Rietz, Bill Ratz, and Ethan List. After jacking up the rails, digging out old ties, dragging in new material, reclaiming surplus ballast from the Potter Street crossing, scavenging for track plates, and pounding in spikes (using both hammers and compressors) the crew successfully replaced four ties in only four hours. This was the continuation of effort from the week before to service the line near the south yard gate.
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