a person who is responsible for maintaining a section of track
The Pennsylvania Railroad had twenty-three thousand women working as section hands,dispatchers, and train crews while their men battled for freedom overseas.
section hand in American English
noun
Railroads
a person who works on a section gang
Also called: tracklayer
Word origin
[1870–75]This word is first recorded in the period 1870–75. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Mafia, Victorian, fifth wheel, linkage, washout