When shooting a video on the railways you need to take a few things into consideration to ensure your safety, the safety of others and also address the needs of other enthusiasts that may want to film the same thing as you. The first thing you need to think about is whether you have permission to film. In most cases this shouldn’t be a problem and you’ll only need to ask a member of station staff as per the rail enthusiasts guidelines. However if you’re filming for commercial purposes you’ll need to get permission from the media department at the relevant train operating company or Network Rail depending on where you’re filming. Failure to alert a member of staff to your presence may mean you get disturbed while filming.

Whether you’re using a camcorder or a compact camera in some cases (but not all) its important to have a video that shows just the subject matter. Just have the approach, passing and a small going away period. If you have an extremely long video with no action then the viewer is likely to get bored and switch to another video. But have to shorter video and the viewer might miss some of the action.

Secondly having a video that bounces and shakes about all over the place may appeal to some, but not others. It can be important sometimes to have steady footage so the viewer is able to sit back, relax and enjoy what you have filmed rather than trying to catch up with all the different movements within your video. Practise holding the camera as steady as possible and even consider investing in a tripod if you wish. Just remember to keep it behind the yellow line on the platform when filming and away from busy public areas.

One of the definite ‘do not’s’ when videoing trains is doing the horn waving sign. This involves using your hand to try and get horns of trains by moving it up and down. This is very similar to a danger signal which is recognised by train drivers so as well as being rather distracting to a driver it could also bring the train to an emergency stop. Not everybody enjoys getting tones from trains but if you do, give the driver a thumbs up instead so you’re not distracting him from his or her work. Furthermore the motion you make with your hands will cause your video footage to wobble.

Choosing your location for videos can be important. Try to choose areas with good scenery because these are more pleasing to look at, and try not to shoot directly into the sun. If you’re filming in the rain then try to keep sheltered because as well as getting spots on your camera lense this might damage your recording equipment.

Lastly, seek advice. If you want some help with your videos then places like our forums are a great place to find out tips from other users and to see examples of work by other videographers.

Article Author: Fred Ellis. Photograph: Chris Jeffery.