Filming from a coach window

[Pacific231G]

I have a Sony 'go-pro' style camera in a waterproof case, that has a 3M sticky mount that I stick to exterior glazing (with a safety line back into the coach) HD and GPS to give speed and location, bluetooth back to my phone to give realtime view and start/stop and gives about 2-3 hours of duration on a single battery charge, and did about 5000 km behind 01 Pacifics in 2015 without falling off.

 

Jon

And how many times did you or anyone else actually sit through the resutling footage. My advice to the OP would be to think in terms of filming a series of shots that tell a story. Especially on a relatively short heritage line there should be plenty of scope to film the same stock through the course of a day from a number of locations. There is an absolutely delightful short film of the Hayling Island line, made in I think the early 1950s by a local cinema owner. Any of us could learn a great deal from watching it and analysing it shot by shot. I think it was all filmed using a clockwork 16mm camera.  I couldn't find it on line so this isn't it  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-sXyupjHNo, but, despite a few bad cuts, even this it's still better than most.

[Classsix T]

I also tend to think that you can either photograph/film something or experience it, it's very difficult to do both.

Indeed, made even more pertinent these days when photo-stops seem to be extinct. I've ridden a few tours that had loco changes in yards and sidings meaning a proper picture of a scooped loco on the day was mostly by luck.

 

Window hanging being very much frowned upon nowadays, coupled with the cost, means my days of railtouring are more likely behind me however.

 

C6T.

[jonhall]

And how many times did you or anyone else actually sit through the resutling footage. My advice to the OP would be to think in terms of filming a series of shots that tell a story. Especially on a relatively short heritage line there should be plenty of scope to film the same stock through the course of a day from a number of locations. There is an absolutely delightful short film of the Hayling Island line, made in I think the early 1950s by a local cinema owner. Any of us could learn a great deal from watching it and analysing it shot by shot. I think it was all filmed using a clockwork 16mm camera.  I couldn't find it on line so this isn't it  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-sXyupjHNo, but, despite a few bad cuts, even this it's still better than most.

 

No more or less frequently than I do when I've used my 'proper' video camera, I watch the fast bit (90mph+) in the Wuppertal area quite a lot (shame the GPS drops out quite a lot), the doubleheaders 'parallelling' in the Black Forest and the 01 1066/202 across the Gotthard rather more than average. I\ll concede I haven't edited it all into a film, but that's not what I enjoy.

 

Jon

[phil_sutters]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40045312

[beast66606]

https://www.gov.uk/raib-reports/fatal-accident-balham

[Edge]

In terms of filming, there is rarely anything worth catching from the window of a train in my opinion. Your eyes catch the scenery better than a camera from a moving train, and curves are rarely sharp enough to catch sight of the loco hauling you along. That being said, I still try

 

I never put my head out of any window on the Main Line - very close equipment and clearances combined with higher speeds give you less chance to get out of the way even if you do see something coming. I limit it to preserved railways where the speed seldom exceeds 25mph and gives me plenty of chance to get my head back inside if I see a tunnel or a bridge coming up

[corneliuslundie]

When I was in Portmadoc last summer someone was filing with a remote camera fixed to a handrail at the front of the loco, pointing forward, so although not cushioned by being held held it would have had a good view ahead, and completely safe - as long as it didn't fall off somewhere along the line.

This seems a much safer option, given co-operation from the train crew (who might want an assurance that they will jot be blamed if the camera head disappears).

Jonathan