Gandy dancer
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Gandy dancer is a slang term used for early railroad workers in the United States and Canada, more formally referred to as section hands, who laid and maintained railroad tracks in the years before th
A railroad section gang – including common workers sometimes called gandy dancers – responsible for maintenance of a particular section of railway. One man is holding a bar, while others are using rail tongs to position a rail. Photo published in 1917.
Photo of railroad maintenance section crew, Lake Erie & Western Railroad, Rawson, Ohio, 1920
A "wide awake gang" of section crew workers. Photo shows what appear to be heel claw bars used to pull up spikes. The title and caption of the photo refer to union membership. Published in Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Journal, 1921.
"Typical Stone Ballasted Track", photo published in 1921
Jimmie Rodgers
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James Charles Rodgers was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Known as Jimmie Rodgers and widely regarded as the "Father of Country Music", he is bes
Rodgers in 1931
Rodgers in a 1921 portrait
The Jimmie Rodgers Entertainers (Rodgers, second from the left, holding a banjo)
Rodgers wearing cowboy attire following his move to Texas. Photo has been colorized.