California-1936: Construction Workers Digging And Laying Railroad 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.

Construction Workers Digging And Laying Railroad Tracks — Clip Details

A group of construction workers in 1930s attire labor on a railroad track in California, using shovels and tools to dig and lay rails across a flat, open landscape. Shot on 8mm film, the footage captures the gritty, industrious atmosphere of Depression-era infrastructure work with authentic grain and period detail. The workers, wearing hats and work clothes, move with purpose along the tracks under a bright sky, offering a rare glimpse into mid-20th century manual labor and rail expansion.

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: 6s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 127476839

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 railroad construction, Depression-era manual labor, and documentary inserts showing infrastructure work on open terrain.
Period detail: The workers' brimmed hats, work shirts, hand tools, and rail-laying activity may show mid-1930s construction practice in a rural California setting.
Home-movie behavior: The footage has an unstaged observer quality, with workers continuing their tasks while the camera watches from beside the track.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include laborers, shovels, rails, ties, a graded track bed, open fields, low hills, and bright sky.
Film character: The 8mm footage shows pronounced grain, soft focus, high daylight exposure, and slight handheld instability that preserve its physical home-movie texture.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a brief cutaway, labor-history insert, infrastructure transition, or establishing detail for rail work in the 1930s American West.
Historical context: The scene visually documents a crew performing physically demanding rail construction with hand tools in an open landscape, without identifying the project or railroad company.
Research note: People are visible and some faces may be partially identifiable, so likeness review may be needed separately from copyright and any location or project identification research.
Research search match: Useful search phrases include 1930s California railroad construction, 8mm rail workers, vintage track laying crew, Depression-era infrastructure labor, and home movie railroad work.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with other shots from the same reel, then with 1936 California material, and then with broader railroad construction or manual labor footage.

Still Frames From This Clip

In 1936 California home-movie footage, a small crew of construction workers stands along railroad rails while digging and handling tools on open terrain. — Workers gather along the rail bed with shovels and tools.

A crew in work clothes and hats appears to dig and align railroad track in a flat California landscape, with rails extending through the scene. — Crew members work in a line along the track.

Railroad construction workers in 1930s attire work with shovels and rail equipment as the track curves across an open California setting. — Men dig and position material beside the rails.

A closer view shows several workers using hand tools beside railroad rails, with one man standing near the track and others bent over their tasks. — Close view of workers handling rail-side tools.

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