Oroville California-1938: Train on Mountain Tracks Beside River

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

Year1938
Decade1930s
LocationOroville, California, United States
Duration6s
Price$149 USD
Collection1938 Oroville California

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use

$149 USD flat · royalty-free worldwide · 4K restored master (MP4)

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Stockfilm licenses the rights identified in the applicable agreement. Additional use-specific review may be required. See the Licensing Guide and Archive Integrity.

Train on Mountain Tracks Beside River — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1938, this vintage home movie captures a scenic view of a train traveling along tracks winding through a rugged mountain valley in Oroville, California. The black-and-white footage shows the train moving alongside a river, with rocky terrain and sparse vegetation surrounding the railway. The perspective appears to be from an elevated position, possibly a bridge or overlook, with tree branches framing the edges of the frame. The film exhibits classic Super 8 grain and slight motion blur, evoking a nostalgic sense of early 20th-century transportation and rural Americana. This archival footage offers a rare glimpse into mid-century rail travel and the natural landscape of Northern California.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: ExteriorBlack & white
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 6s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 127263847

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Commercial Direct license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

No recognizable people, logos, or music are flagged. Lower-risk for commercial use, subject to your own review.

People visible: No
Logos / trademarks: No
Audible music: No

Flags come from automated catalog metadata, not a legal opinion. The source is an original 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie reel. For high-stakes commercial use, request a full rights review.

Source & Documentation

Source reel: Reel 1153 · 8mm · 5″ reel
Original reel label: bucks lake,lake tahoe,emerald bay,martins lodge
Reel-level year note: 1938
Reel-level location note: california
Date: 1938 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level note shows the same year, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Location: Oroville, California, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level location note is linked, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Licensing route: Direct license available from Stockfilm

Confidence labels are defined on Archive Integrity. Fields without a recorded value are shown as not recorded rather than assumed.

View source reel context Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Useful for 1930s transportation, Northern California landscape, and rural rail-route establishing shots in documentary or educational edits.
Period detail: The frames may show a 1938 8mm view of a rail line and road through rugged Oroville-area terrain, with no visible modern vehicles, signs, or structures.
Home-movie behavior: The clip has a visitor-shot overlook perspective, observing distant rail and river scenery rather than staging action for the camera.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include a winding road or rail corridor, river water, rocky slopes, sparse trees, utility poles, and dark foreground branches or film edges.
Film character: The black-and-white 8mm scan shows coarse grain, soft focus, uneven exposure, and contact-sheet framing that preserve the physical home-movie texture.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a brief scenic insert, transition, or geography cutaway for rail travel, river valleys, or remembered California landscapes.
Historical context: The footage visually connects rail movement, road access, and river terrain in a mountain valley setting without proving a specific railroad or route name.
Research note: No people, logos, or readable brands are visible, but copyright status and any property or location permissions should be reviewed separately.
Research search match: Likely matches searches for 1930s 8mm Oroville California train, river valley rail footage, vintage railroad landscape, and black-and-white home movie travel.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent reel material, then other 1938 Oroville or Northern California views, then broader rail, river, and mountain-road footage.

Still Frames From This Clip

1938 Oroville-area 8mm frame showing a winding corridor beside water, rocky slopes, trees, and utility poles. — A high-angle view looks over a river valley with a winding corridor and sparse trees.

1938 Oroville-area view of a curving rail or road line through rocky terrain, with branches at the edge of the frame. — The valley corridor curves through pale rocky terrain with trees and water nearby.

Black-and-white 8mm frame from Oroville showing a river bend, utility poles, and a winding route through a rugged valley. — Utility poles and a winding route stand out against the river and rocky valley floor.

Late clip frame widens to a rocky Oroville-area river valley, with water below, trees on slopes, and distant terrain. — A broader valley view shows river water bordered by rocky slopes and scattered trees.

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