Spiker
This article is about rail transport maintenance of way. For other uses, see Spiker (disambiguation).
![](../I/m/BNSF_X4400320_20040808_WI_Prairie_du_Chien.jpg)
A BNSF Railway spiker in operation in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
A spiker is a piece of rail transport maintenance of way equipment. Its purpose is to drive rail spikes into the ties on a rail track to hold the rail in place. Many different sizes of spikers are manufactured and in use around the world.
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.