Spike driver

Historically, spikers was the slang-name for the rail workers who drove in the spikes after the gandy dancers laid the track on the tie.

This process was slow and not easy to learn (at the driving of the golden spike that marked the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, several executives of the companies building the railroad tried and failed to drive in the final spike, showing how difficult a task it was).

[1] To make the process of driving spikes faster and easier, automated self-propelled machines that travel on the rails were developed in the 1900s.

[3] Railroad workers operate the machine by directing the rams and moving the spiker, which is usually self-propelled and powered by a diesel engine.

A typical spiker has controls on both sides of the machine, allowing it to operate when only one of the two rails needs spikes inserted.