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Archiver > TNDICKSO > 2000-02 > 0949552421


From: "Ken McCulloch" <>
Subject: Re: [TNDICKSO] IRA
Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2000 23:33:41 -0500


I waited until Ira replied to see if he called them anything differently.
My grandfather was a foreman over a section gang on the L & N Memphis Line.
He was stationed variously at Brownsville, Gadsden, Braden, Humboldt (where
he died in 1933). I have a photo of grandpa and his "gandy dancers" setting
on a hand car at Gadsden in the late 1920' s. Seems like he had 8 or so men
on the crew. My mother well remembers living in section houses along that
line. The house they lived in at Braden and at Gadsden are still standing
and were in pretty good shape when I visited them last Summer. Mother said
she couldn' t ever remember a train derailing other than late at night. She
remembers grandpa always got the call in the middle of the night to call out
the crew.

Now here is one for Ira or anyone else. Why did they call section hands
"gandy dancers"?

Walker K. McCulloch



> In a message dated 02/02/2000 10:34:38 AM Central Standard Time,
> writes:
>
> << What did they call the crew that was assigned to a
> section of track to check and repair it? I've been calling it a Section
> Crew, but only because I didn't know what else to call it. You are right,
a
> Section Gang or Crew which was they were the maintenance crew for that
> Section of Track and on the condensed profiles they were broken down into
> sections and actuarially shown on the track profile.
>
> Can anyone join the L&N Railroad Historical Society? I am sure you can,
they
> are always getting new people from all walks of life. In fact the majority
of
> the members were something other than railroad men or railroad retirees.
Send
> them a E-mail at :
>
>
> And I am sure you will get a lot of responses. Tell them you have been
> talking to me about it, the annual dues are $20.00, this will get you both
> the magazines "The Dixie Line" with a lot of old pictures and old time
> stories in it. and the "Old Reliable" There are a lot of people in
> Nashville, Dickson, Clarksville Paris and all over the US that are
members.
>
> Ira Bell
> >>
>

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