California-1936: Workers Laying Train Rails In Desert With Steam Drilling Machine

$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.

Year1936
Decade1930s
LocationCalifornia, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD
Collection1936 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.

Workers Laying Train Rails In Desert With Steam Drilling... — Clip Details

CALIFORNIA-1936: Workers labor in a dry, sun-baked desert landscape, laying and securing train rails. A large steam-powered drilling machine operates on the right, its long arm extending over the track as men in period work clothes use tools to adjust the rails. The scene captures the physical effort and industrial scale of early 20th-century railroad construction, filmed on 8mm home movie stock with visible grain and vintage film characteristics.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 127476784

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.

Editorial use is the safest path. For commercial use, a clearance review is recommended for the flags below.

People visible: Yes
Minors 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 record not linked for this clip
Date: 1936 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual or technical evidence; no reel-level note is linked.
Location: California, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual evidence such as signage, landmarks, or terrain; no reel-level note is linked.
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.

Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: 1930s California railroad construction footage for documentary or educational edits needing labor, machinery, and desert infrastructure context.
Period detail: The workers' clothing, hand tools, rail bed, utility poles, and steam-powered drilling rig may show mid-1930s railroad construction practices in a dry California landscape.
Home-movie behavior: The camera observes from a practical worksite distance, giving unstaged glimpses of men guiding rails and working around heavy machinery.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include laborers, curved rail sections, gravel ballast, utility poles, arid hills, a drilling machine boom, dust, and scattered tools or work materials.
Film character: The 8mm scan has soft focus, visible grain, exposure fluctuation, gate edges, and a handheld home-movie texture consistent with original small-gauge film.
Edit role: An editor could use this as an industrial labor insert, a railroad-building cutaway, or a transition into Depression-era infrastructure and worksite sequences.
Historical context: The clip visually documents manual rail work and mechanized assistance in a sparsely populated desert setting without identifying a specific rail line or project.
Research note: People are visible at a distance, so likeness review may be needed; no logos or private property are apparent, and copyright clearance is separate from visible rights concerns.
Research search match: Useful search matches include 1930s California railroad workers, 8mm desert rail construction, steam drilling machine, and vintage home movie infrastructure footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent footage from the same reel, then other California 1936 material, then related railroad, desert labor, machinery, and infrastructure clips.

Still Frames From This Clip

1936 California 8mm frame showing a steam-powered drilling rig near workers on a dry railroad construction site. — A drilling machine operates beside laborers and rail materials in the desert.

1936 California frame with a drilling machine boom extending over a dusty railroad worksite as laborers stand nearby. — The drilling rig throws dust as workers stand near the developing track bed.

1936 California 8mm view of men working along curved train rails, with utility poles and low hills behind them. — Laborers spread along the curved rails while one man bends over the track in the foreground.

1936 California frame showing railroad workers spaced along curved rails in a dry landscape with telephone or utility poles. — Workers continue along the rail line as the track curves through open desert ground.

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