This is way overdue and  is submitted  as a compliance measure. If I liked the
idea I suppose I'd have done it long ago.

When I was seven  I was given the choice of taking either piano or woodworking
lessons. A real no-brainer even for a kid.

To make a couple of extra bucks during the depression an old guy in my hometown

set up a  woodworking classroom  in his basement where he taught the basics of
using  handtools. I got off to a great start,  but blew it by not following up
until recently.

Between then and now I worked a variety of  jobs:   the black gang in the
Merchant Marine; gandy dancing in Alaska;  the Navy in which I actually did see
a lot of the world; worked construction in New England; taught at a Mid-Western
university; worked on an oil refinery, a  railroad in New Jersey,  a national
food company and a big communications outfit, among others.

These jobs paid OK, but they didn't do much for building woodworking skills;
and between work and raising a family there wasn't much time left over.

Retired now, living in the country, raising a few critters, growing apples, hay
and trees, which fortunately grow without much help from me, I can spend some
time on fun stuff.

I'm looking to fill some empty slots in my  tool chest, and a whole lot of gaps
in my woodworking skills.

In a message dated 98-10-30 09:02:12 EST, John.S.North@V... writes:

<<
 Between then and now I worked a variety of  jobs:   the black gang in the
 Merchant Marine; gandy dancing in Alaska;  the Navy in which I actually did
see
 a lot of the world; worked construction in New England; taught at a Mid-
Western
 university; worked on an oil refinery, a  railroad in New Jersey,  a national
 food company and a big communications outfit, among others.
  >>

Welcome to the porch, John.
Gandy dancing was about as galootish an occupation there ever will be.
I've seen the work in a documentary and it makes scrub planing look like
a stroll in the park.

Erik von Sneidern
who wonders if someone onlist c#llects railroad tools.

Alright! Welcome Mr. North to the porch! On behalf of those of us
who are fortunate enough to have a computer and a few Galootish tools,
but are unfortunate in that we don't know offhand what the practice of
"gandy dancing" entails;
   What is gandy dancing? Oh yeah, and what's a black gang?
Humbly,
Wes
   p.s. I checked no reference material before posting this question.

> Between then and now I worked a variety of  jobs:   the black gang in the
> Merchant Marine; gandy dancing in Alaska;

On Fri, 30 Oct 1998, Wesley Groot the tall galoot wrote:

> Alright! Welcome Mr. North to the porch! On behalf of those of us
> who are fortunate enough to have a computer and a few Galootish tools,
> but are unfortunate in that we don't know offhand what the practice of
> "gandy dancing" entails;
>    What is gandy dancing? Oh yeah, and what's a black gang?

Gandy dancing was an extremely galootish activity.  It was a practise used
on the railroads in days of yore in which a gang of laborers would be
sent out along the tracks to check for the alignment of the rails.  The
men would use large pry bars to move the tracks laterally in their
beds of crushed rock.  The pry bars were reputedly manufactured by, you
guessed it, the Gandy Co., hence gandy dancers.  One man alone could not
budge the tracks, but the men would work in concert, usually to some sort
of chanted rhythm (kinda like Bill Murray in Stripes).  The force the
men would apply to the rails was usually done at certain parts of the
verses that the foreman was chanting.  These guys were able to move
70-120 lb rails this way.  The rail inspectors would use the gandy dancers
to fix alignment of the tracks in the curves.  Misaligned tracks in curves
are a bad thing, very bad.

If you get a chance, Wes, go to an ACE hardware or farm supply store and
look at the pinch bars that are available.  These are 5 ft. variations on
the pry bars the gandy dancers would use.  Think of a crow bar on massive
steroids.

Railroads, for the most part, did away with the dancers in favor of
maintainence-of-way machines.  These are the oddly shaped, purpose built
machines used to aline and respike tracks.  Fascinating pieces of
industrial design and construction.

Lee Sudlow

Wes

 Lee Sudlow's answer to your question is
(pardon me) partly on track. His description of
lining rail is quite accurate, but that's not gandy dancing.

It is true that The Gandy Manufacturing Co. Chicago, Illinois made tools used
by track
workers. They probably did make the lining bars,
which as Lee points out were humongous crow bars.

A gandy dancer is (was) a track worker. If he worked a designated section of
the railroad he
was called a section hand.

The "dancer" part of the name comes from his
function of tamping ties. Actually tamping the ballast in which the ties are
bedded. He stands on one tie on one foot. His other foot drives a
number two shovel ("Mexican Dragline with a hickory boom") into the ballast
under the tie in front of him. Four men facing forward on each tie
and four men working backward down the line tamp
both sides of each tie and both sides of the
two rails.

There was usually a whole crew doing this more
or less simultaneously. Each man holding his
shovel in both hands and bouncing up and down
on one foot,"dancing". It was an unusual sight, and one no longer seen. The
function is now performed by hydraulic tamping machines. These are mounted on
railroad wheels and mechanically tamp the ballast with eight sets of tools
somewhat like dull chisels pounding
into the ballast on each side of each tie (sleepers, Jeff) and each side of
both rails.

Tailed apprentices aren't the only devices
that have supplanted hand tools.

After the ties have been tamped the rails are
aligned as Lee described. Usually eight men,
four on each rail, heaving at the command of
the foreman who is squatting some distance
down the line sighting (in my experience)
through a notch of hole in a small slat of
wood resting on the rail.

Next question: Black Gang: The engineroom crew
on a ship so called because of their appearance
coming off watch in the days of coal burning
steamships. Nothing to do with race. Most of
them were likely white when they went on watch.

John

For anyone in the Washington D.C. area interested in actually seeing this
there
is a team of reenactors that demonstrate at the Manassas Railroad Festival
each
year.  You can even buy a tape of the songs.  It's a fascinating
demonstration,
and as Lee says "extremely galootish".

Rob
rob@p...

At 11:35 AM 10/30/98 , Lee Sudlow wrote:
>Gandy dancing was an extremely galootish activity.  It was a practise used
>on the railroads in days of yore in which a gang of laborers would be
>sent out along the tracks to check for the alignment of the rails.  The
>men would use large pry bars to move the tracks laterally in their
>beds of crushed rock.  The pry bars were reputedly manufactured by, you
>guessed it, the Gandy Co., hence gandy dancers.  One man alone could not
>budge the tracks, but the men would work in concert, usually to some sort
>of chanted rhythm (kinda like Bill Murray in Stripes).  The force the
>men would apply to the rails was usually done at certain parts of the
>verses that the foreman was chanting.  These guys were able to move
>70-120 lb rails this way.  The rail inspectors would use the gandy dancers
>to fix alignment of the tracks in the curves.  Misaligned tracks in curves
>are a bad thing, very bad.

On 30 Oct 98 12:44:42 EST John.S.North@V... (John S. North) writes:
[snip]
>
>A gandy dancer is (was) a track worker. If he worked a designated
>section of the railroad he  was called a section hand.
>
        I have been telling my kids (during trips to the Strasburg
Railroad)
that the hand propelled track vehicle was called a gandy dancer.  What is
that thing called?

Regards,
Steve

Steve Reynolds wrote:
>
> I have been telling my kids (during trips to the Strasburg Railroad)
> that the hand propelled track vehicle was called a gandy dancer.  What
> is that thing called?

A hand car.

Ed