United States-1938: Rail-Mounted Ditcher Digging, Lifting and Releasing Soil

Catalog date: estimated · Catalog location: estimated. Review source evidence · Request a source quality check

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only. $149 flat from Stockfilm for documentary, news and educational use, plus internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.

Year1938
Decade1930s
LocationUnited States
Duration8s
Price$149 USD
Collection1938 · United States
StatusStockfilm Exclusive

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only

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

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From the same film reel

1938 · United States · Reel e7c9589b contains 11 published Stockfilm-exclusive clips. Watch them in reel order and review the available reel documentation.

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What is in this clip

railway maintenance
excavation
mechanization
industrial work
transport infrastructure
rural landscape

Shot type: wide
Camera: pan · tilt · handheld · Side view from approximately trackside height
Setting: outdoor · Railroad work area in open rolling grassland
Time and weather: daytime · undetermined · Dry conditions with a pale sky
Lighting: Natural daylight with deep machinery shadows
People: 1 · One adult-sized operator is visible as a dark silhouette inside the ditcher's cab; facial details are indistinct.
Vehicles: rail-mounted ditcher
Objects: digging bucket · lattice boom · mechanical arm · hoisting cables · pulleys · wheeled platform · railroad tracks · station-distance sign · fence posts · loose soil
Readable signs: STATION ONE MILE · N.P. · 13
Colors: black · gray · white
Master dimensions: 3840 × 2160
Audio: Silent
Date confidence: Low
Location confidence: Medium

Moments in the footage

Select a time to watch that moment in the preview.

The bucket works near ground level beside the tracks.
The arm draws the bucket upward through loose soil.
The raised bucket hangs beneath the boom cables.
Soil falls from the bucket beside the wheeled platform.

Rail-Mounted Ditcher Digging, Lifting and Releasing Soil — Clip Details

United States, circa 1938 home movie footage shows a rail-mounted ditcher working beside railroad tracks in open rolling country. Its bucket digs near ground level, rises on a cable-operated arm and releases soil beside the machine. A white sign reads “STATION ONE MILE,” while a dark operator silhouette appears inside the cab. The continuous black-and-white shot reframes to include more of the boom and wheeled platform.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: Black & white
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: editorial use only Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 8s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 800003949

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Editorial only Direct license: editorial use only. Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.

Editorial use only; commercial use is not offered for this clip. Review the flags below for your editorial context.

People visible: Yes
Minors visible: No
Logos / trademarks: Yes
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: 1938 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: 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 circa 1938 United States sequence supports documentary and museum requests for railway excavation machinery completing a visible working action.
Period detail: The cable-operated boom, enclosed cab, rail wheels and painted equipment lettering provide period machinery detail consistent with circa 1938.
Home-movie behavior: The camera follows the bucket's movement from an onlooker's trackside position, recording ordinary work without visible staging.
What appears in frame: The view includes a digging bucket, lattice boom, hanging cables, wheeled platform, railroad tracks, station-distance sign and rounded hill.
Film character: Black-and-white grain, soft projected detail, uneven brightness and dark edges give the continuous shot a visibly transferred small-gauge texture.
Edit role: Use the complete digging-to-release movement as an industrial action insert or a bridge between equipment transport and manual track work.
Historical context: The machine works directly beside railway tracks in open country, showing mechanical earthmoving within a rural transport corridor.
Research note: An indistinct operator, equipment markings and railway property are visible; copyright licensing is separate from any applicable likeness, trademark or property permissions.
Research search match: The clip answers searches for circa 1938 American railway maintenance, rail-mounted ditchers and black-and-white small-gauge machinery footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with this reel's truck hauling machinery, rail crew working together and railroad workers swinging tools, then with United States railway maintenance circa 1938.

Still Frames From This Clip

United States, circa 1938: a rail ditcher's bucket works near ground level beside tracks and a sign reading “STATION ONE MILE.” — The bucket works low beside the track, with the station-distance sign standing to the right.
License this still · $49

United States, circa 1938: the ditcher begins lifting its bucket beside the “STATION ONE MILE” sign in open rolling country. — The bucket rises through loose earth alongside the white signpost.
License this still · $49

United States, circa 1938: a rail-mounted ditcher holds its bucket above the tracks beneath a cable-supported lattice boom. — The raised bucket and extended boom are visible above the rail platform.
License this still · $49

United States, circa 1938: soil drops from the rail ditcher's raised bucket beside the platform, with a silhouetted operator inside the cab. — The bucket releases soil beside the machine as the operator remains in the shaded cab.
License this still · $49

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