Railroad Laborers

Railroad Laborers. . , A vast labor force was needed during construction of the railroads. Workers came from many ethnic groups, bringing a piece of "home" with them as they contributed to the growing culture of Boundary County. , Laborers hired for low wages, became experts in blasting rock, building tunnels, and grading the rail beds. They acquired colorful titles such as "swampers" and "powder monkeys." , Laborers constructed bridges and trestles across waterways, gullies, and swamps. "Tie hacks" hewed ties by hand, crews spiked rails to ties. , Railroads employed "track walkers" to inspect two mile sections of rail line for obstructions. Later, handcarts and speeders were used. Section crew men called "gandy dancers" continued to maintain the rail line. , Rock Ovens . The aroma of freshly baked bread spread throughout the railroad construction camps. Dome shaped rock ovens, attributed to the Italian laborers, were built of local rock and chinked with clay. This have been mistakenly called "Chinese ovens" because Chinese crews used similar ovens along other earlier railroads. A fire would be built inside and kept going until the rocks sufficiently hot. With the coals raked out, loaves of dough were placed inside to bake.