CIRCLEVILLE – Yes, a new gang is in town – the tie gang, Norfolk Southern tie gang to be exact. That is what they call themselves, tie gang. You may have seen this crew of workers yesterday and today moving up and down the main line throughout Downtown Circleville. They are working on the Northern Part of Circleville in the North Court bridge area and North.
The crew is part of the general maintenance on the railroad, to keep the trains running. Lots of modern equipment is used, and it is not the backbreaking job it used to be. Working on the tie gang, your responsibilities mostly include maintaining and replacing railroad ties. These workers travel all around the United States and when we interviewed them,lots of accents were represented among the workers. The tie gang claims the equipment can do 30 railroad ties per minute.
The position of a tie gang laborer had changed dramatically since the age of railroading when manual tools and back breaking work were employed. Even though the early-to-mid-1900s large gangs of laborers would spend longcountless hours laboring to repair and maintenance ties. Only after World War two were mechanized machines built to replace back breaking work.
Would you like to learn more about the life and times of a tie gang worker? Click here to visit American Railroads information on tie gangs.
