gandy dancer: a railroad worker who tamped down railroad ties and stabilized the tracks

Gandy is a mysterious word. Some people suggest that gandy dancers were so-named because of a special tool they employed, which required the operator to stamp on it vigorously while turning it in a circle. In this version, the worker's ganderlike hopping movements led to the nickname gandy dancer. An alternative suggestion is that gandy dancers were named for their bobbing movements as they propelled themselves along the rails on handcars. Handcars were wheeled platforms that moved forward when their pumplike handle was pushed up and down. A few etymological sources claim that the workers were named for the Gandy Manufacturing Company of Chicago, which supposedly made railroad-working tools. However, word historians who have searched for this company have found no mention of it in records of the time.