1973 16mm film by Jack Schrader and Tom Burton that features field recordings of work chants of Gandy Dancers including aligning songs and chants to knock out slack in the rail. Shot with a 16mm Bolex camera without sync sound, the visuals shows men working with cross ties, aligning the track, and spiking. The film focuses on the changes brought about by mechanization of railroad building.
Damn, those are some hard, tough men. Not a snowflake among them.
Watching those guys work their hammers is amazing, but check out the looks on their faces when they see the spike driving machine that's going to take their jobs.
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And along the same lines:
Track Work - Then and Now
Take an inside look at how track work has changed over the decades.
VIDEO HERE (9:14 minutes)
