Daily AncestorSection hand
A section hand was a railroad laborer who maintained a set stretch of track, replacing ties and rails and keeping it level.
Railroads divided their lines into sections of several miles, each with a crew and a foreman. Section hands replaced ties, tightened spikes and kept the track aligned, often living in company housing along the line.
The slang term was gandy dancer. Crews were often made up of recent immigrants and members of minority groups.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1880 to 1940 census
Jose Garcia, 28, Section hand, R.R., Tex.
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Section hand." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/section-hand. Last checked 2026-10-01.