California-1936: Blue Collar Men Cleaning The New Rail Tracks

$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
Duration6s
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.

Blue Collar Men Cleaning The New Rail Tracks — Clip Details

A vintage 8mm film clip from California in 1936 captures a group of blue-collar workers laboring on a newly laid railroad track. Men in caps and work shirts use shovels and tools to adjust and secure the rails in a dusty, open landscape. The grainy black-and-white footage shows them working in a line, some bending to tighten components while others stand ready with equipment. The scene reflects the manual effort of early 20th-century infrastructure development, with a wide, flat horizon under a bright sky. Shot on 8mm film, the footage has a nostalgic, documentary feel, offering authentic archival material for historical or editorial projects.

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: 127476825

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: This clip supports archival requests for 1930s California infrastructure labor, railroad maintenance, manual track work, and short documentary inserts about Depression-era blue-collar outdoor work.
Period detail: The caps, work shirts, hand tools, newly exposed rail bed, and black-and-white 8mm texture may show mid-1930s railroad construction or cleaning activity in an open California landscape.
Home-movie behavior: The camera observes the men from close beside the track with a handheld, visitor-like perspective, preserving casual working gestures rather than staged industrial coverage.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include several adult male workers, shovels and long tools, newly laid rails, wood ties, loose gravel or ballast, a wide open horizon, and bright outdoor light.
Film character: The footage has pronounced 8mm grain, soft focus, uneven exposure, gate-edge shadows, and slight handheld movement that give it clear physical-film archival texture.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a compact insert, labor cutaway, transition into rail history, or visual memory beat for manual infrastructure work.
Historical context: The scene visually documents coordinated outdoor track labor with multiple men working by hand before mechanized maintenance equipment is visible in the frame.
Research note: People are visible and likely identifiable only in a limited archival sense, so likeness and context review may still be needed in addition to any copyright assessment.
Research search match: Useful researcher searches include 1930s California railroad workers, 8mm home movie rail track labor, men shoveling ballast, and vintage railroad maintenance footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent shots from the same reel, then other California 1936 material, and then broader railroad, infrastructure, labor, and outdoor work footage.

Still Frames From This Clip

In 1936 California, adult male workers stand and shovel beside a newly laid railroad track in a dusty open landscape. — Workers stand along the rail line with hand tools.

In 1936 California, men in work clothes gather along the rails, with several holding shovels or long tools near the track bed. — Crew members cluster beside the rails.

In 1936 California, a line of workers bends and stands along the rail bed while using hand tools on or near the track. — Men work in a line along the track bed.

In 1936 California, a foreground worker shovels beside the rail while other men continue track work farther along the line. — Foreground worker shovels beside the rail.

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