What is a Gandy Dancer?
A gandy dancer is someone who works on the maintenance crew of a railroad. Track crews are critical for a working railroad, as these men and women ensure that the tracks are in good working order, and they address situations on the tracks before they turn into problems. Work in this field can be backbreaking, and the hours are often very long, as people are sometimes required to travel great distances to check on and repair tracks. The origins of the term “gandy dancer” to refer to a track worker are rather obscure. The term appears to have emerged at the end of the nineteenth century, and it was often used specifically in reference to black track workers. Many track workers in the Eastern part of the United States were of black heritage, while workers in the West tended to be Chinese and later Latin American, after Chinese immigrants were excluded from most work as well as property ownership, marriage, and citizenship. Latin American gandy dancers had their own term for themselves: tr
He is a railroad worker. A black railroad worker. A group of black railroad workers that form a gang. That gang was referred to as an “extra gang”. The term “extra” meaning they were not a part of the standard work group or gang. The complete and correct terminology used on the railroad was “A colored extra gang” which is historically correct. Why black? First of all, “white people ain’t got no rhythm”. They did try aligning tracks and lifting rail but doing it their way. The problem encountered was the lack of progress. It was taking too long. There was a definite lack of coordination in their motion. The all black crews had the motion, had the rhythm, had the coordination and could make excellent progress on the number of miles of completed rail, be it new rail, repair, or alignment. Now put those white workers in a gang with a black caller, it works. I was fortunate to have witnessed and heard these events as I traveled around the CC&O railroad with my father. The term “GANDY”, I’m
