Trains and drones - anybody interested?

I’m a member of a small heritage railway, the Chinnor and Princess Risborough Railway not too far from Aylesbury and the M40 cutting.

To be honest, I rarely get round to doing any volunteering, but it’s a small, friendly railway, with a cute station and 7 miles worth of track through the Chilterns to Princess Risborough.

Last year, as a fund raising effort, the Railway started doing Photography Course days.

It occurred to me that there might be an opportunity to do something with drones, so I sent a tentative “What do you think?” email to the board. I wasn’t sure what to expect, given safety considerations that apply not only to drone pilots but also to working railways.

Anyway, the railway photographer has responded positively. They’ve suggested doing something during the next photo day which also coincides with a Diesel Gala, on Friday 16th March. Not much use for me, sadly, as I’m all out of holiday at work, but is anybody else interested? The weather might be a problem in March as well, mind you, might be a problem anytime I suppose. Or if something could be done at a weekend, is it worth pursuing?

The Railway’s website is http://www.chinnorrailway.co.uk/

All thoughts appreciated.

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I am 100% down for this and would love to film there. I will look into it and weather and shifts permitting I will be all over that !! I’d be happy to pay a donation to the running of the railway for permission to catch some sweet steam footage. With seven miles of track there’s bound to be enough space to allow a few people to plot up and not get into each others air as well.

Sounds like an awesome idea - and in my part of the world too. If we get enough interest it could be a GADC meetup. Let’s hope the weather is improving by then.

Where do we book up?

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“Ooooh yes please” It looks like a place for a good day out for me and her indoors.

Ok, cool, I’ll talk to the Railway some more and see what can be arranged :grinning:

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Nice one Colin!!

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Hi all,

Okay, first things first, the original date was wrong, it’s actually Saturday 17th March. It’s a diesel gala weekend, so no steam.

The railway runs, as a fundraiser, regular photography course days. As an experiment, we’ve got two slots for that day. They would prefer it if it’s two people who attend all day. The photo courses at the moment cover normal stills only, so there’s a bit of a plan to develop into including drone photography as well. So this is something of a trial, and it does mean the day is intended to look developing that angle, not just a chance to fly.

The cost is £30 for the day, which will cover costs.

I can’t really make it, prior commitment, though I’ll probsbly be able to drop in towards the end of the day.

Any takers?

thats St pats day Mmmmm
fly drink fly drink fly drink thats a hard choice

I’m still interested but it sounds a bit like they want us to be guinea pigs for this session. Are the two people they want to be there all day the maximum number of drone flyers they want to attend or who they want to be around to answer questions?

Also, is there going to be a designated area for drone flying somewhere away from the main station or will we have free reign to fly anywhere? Details I know but if this is to be a trial for future drone sessions it’d be nice to know how much thought has gone into it.

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