The Gandy Story

Spike sees an old man down by the BSNF rail yards, watching trains pass by and crying. Spike asks what’s wrong. The man, who’s name is Gandy, explains that back in the old days, he was a Gandy Dancer, part of a hard-workin’ crew, straightening track and hammering spikes, making the roadbeds safe for steam engines like The Spirit Of Cleburne, good ol’ number 3417.

Then when modern machines came along to do the rail work faster, Gandy took what was left of his of his rail hammer, and left the only job he ever knew. There are days, he tells Spike, when he feels that there is nothing left for him to do, so he dances no more.

Then Spike gets an idea! 

He picks up Gandy’s hammer and says “Why don’t we go down to Hulen Park? You can visit with 3417 and I’ll be back in just a few.” With Gandy in the engine’s cab, Spike goes to the Railroaders clubhouse manager and they both work double time to attach the broken metal hammer to a wooden baseball bat!

Spike takes it to Gandy and the old man cries again, but this time it’s tears of joy! “You’ve combined my two favorite things!” says Gandy, “Railroading and baseball!” He’s so happy, he dances again.

Gandy asks what he can do to repay Spike, and he says “There are a lot of kids who would love to meet you and watch you swing your hammer! How about you come down to the ballpark and help me during the Railroaders games?” Gandy readily agrees and says “Now I can hammer baseballs instead of rails!” 

Now Gandy feels wanted again, and Spike has a pal to hang out with. The two friends can be found at The Depot, making thousands of fans smile every day and night.