How To Stop a Train - Video for Rail Fans

Between Rails with a DIY Slider

I never left home with the intention of stopping a train but...sh*t happens.

So if you've been following this blog for a while, you know I enjoy doing videos. And I thought shooting some footage on the railways would probably be fun. And it was.

I used to travel with the freight train when I was 14 and this made me remember the good old days.

So after we shot a few trains passing by, it was about time we got out of there. But wait! Here's another one coming and this one's a highball.



I'm munching an apple, I take out my GoPro fast, turn it on, place it just near the track and wait. And it seems that the train is not approaching as fast as it should... What's going on?

Oops. The train stops a few meters from the camera. From 120 km/h (75.5 m/h) to zero.



Kinda hard to translate what the mechanic said but he told me to go to hell (me and my films) and called me stupid coz he had to stop the train because of me. He thought I was gonna put my head on the rail.

Why would I kill myself on such a beautiful day? And I have to edit all this footage. He didn't seem to understand my perspective. :-)

For my Romanian followers, here's how the conversation went (starts at 0:37):

Mechanic: CE CAUTI BA ACOLO?! 
Me: E o camera. Facem un film. 
Mechanic: Bai, fir-ar filmili tale ale dreacu sa fie. Opresc trenu asta, prostule! Pai tu acolo pui...?! Am crezut ca te pui cu capu pe linie! 

 Bam! (a inchis usa)

The GoPro was in its underwater case so you can only hear the mechanic with your headphones on and maximum volume.

Highball
  • Noun - Railroads - a. a signal to start a train, given with a hand or with a lamp; b. a signal for a train to move at full speed
  • Verb - Slang - to move at full speed

Who's to blame?

GoPro of course. Coz the HD Hero doesn't have LEDs on all faces to tell you when it's recording. So you have to stick your head in front of the lens to see if the cam is filming. When I did that, it appeared as if I was placing my head on the rail. :-)

GoPro HD Hero 2 solves this problem (and also shoots in 120 fps).

Constantin Gabor Shooting Video on DIY Slider

A fact about locomotive mechanics

A friend knows someone working as a mechanic and he said that each mechanic that has been in this job for 10 to 20 years has killed at least one man and lots of animals.

When this guy stopped his train, he had his reasons.

Peace out, man! I apologize.

Constantin Gabor Shooting Video

DIY Camera Slider

Locomotive


Shooting Video for Rail Fans

Video Shooting on Tripod - Constantin Gabor

Video shots taken with Sony HX9V on a DIY camera stabilizer, DIY slider and Fancier tripod.

Still photography by Sorin Ciribasa.

Be safe!


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5 comments :

  1. Nice Rojk Hoodie! Definitely some cool footage. Looks like you had a lot of fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stopping the train made my day. :-) Yup, love the hoodie.

      Delete
  2. Adevarul e ca dadeai putin a "kamikaze " aplecat peste liniile acelea :)
    Rezultatul final, spectaculos ca de obicei.
    Felicitari !

    ReplyDelete
  3. Foarte tare frate! Deci filmul asta este maxim :X.Te salut! Adrian ;)

    ReplyDelete

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