Following train through Tehachapi Loop

A very cool aerial view of a 4 engine 1.3 mile long BNSF train passing through the world famous Tehachapi Loop 25 miles outside of Bakersfield California.
I didn't add any music to this one, so you could hear the train rumbling and blowing its horn.
The idea came about when a Dynamic Soaring flying buddy from Brazil wanted to capture an interesting train video for his son back home who is a real train fan. Luckily we were in Bakersfield so the nearby Tehachapi loop was the obvious choice. Being an FPV pilot who's flown near trains before, I decided to fly my quad while he filmed from the ground. This was the 2nd train, after I'd figured out some of the best angles.
The loop is about 3/4 mile around, and from information in the video, and using Google Earth I can set the train's length at 1.3 miles. It took about 10 minutes from the moment I took off, for the train to clear the loop and disappear into the exit tunnel.
Might enjoy some of my other train and railroad related vids.
• FPV - 3 trains and a p...
• FPV Montana 4 Mile Rai...
vimeo.com/33512219
vimeo.com/19649298

[@jamesdmehl]

Seeing this again and again just floors me, it's just the ultimate way to catch a train without getting on the property, keep up the good work. A chopper would only maybe one step closer, be careful and good luck with the plane, great just great!

[@mapexmac]

That was just about the COOLEST rail vid I've ever seen! Awesome idea in combing two great hobbies. Fantastic views, great stick work!

[@brianelam2158]

You have just spawned an entirely-new hobby. Now, every rail fan is going to want to do this. Nice job!!!

[@KnoxvilleRailfanProductions]

And he did.

[@kenneymitchell1525]

Dude, that is probably the best shots of Tehachapi I have ever seen. I'm surprised you didn't take any shots being right in front of the lead engine. Totally awesome man. Keep up the good work, love it.

[@hoosierhobbies]

In a world of everything is becoming the same, you brought a whole new perspective to the game! Great video, thanks for doing this, I thought it was incredible!

[@Cornelu]

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful!

[@Gracebeliever077]

This is absolutely amazing!

[@denniswhite166]

Thank you for posting this. Awesome job. Very impressive sight and flight!

[@BobbyHarveyVideoProductions]

Wow, what a great idea, I've never thought of doing this before. I didn't realize RC planes had that much range! Great video!

[@trekmyer4592]

I watch railfan vids a lot----your Tehachapi vid raised the standards for vids. The perspective is spectacular. There are several very good Tehachapi vids but nothing like yours.

[@lowwlife1]

Killer footage!!! Thanks for posting.

[@marcioh123]

thank you Ian! my son loved it!

[@SFLRailFan]

That was pretty f***ing cool! Definitely takes railfanning to a whole new level.

[@Fusionman187]

That was great...like a big model railroad!

[@DGModelworks]

That is freaking awesome!! Thanks for sharing this perspective. Deryk

[@erichbeckymohler6442]

That was epic!

[@CactusJackSlade]

This shot is on my bucket list.... last time I was there it was blowing like 35mph so I just had to watch the train go by....

[@petewilliams2210]

Thanks, reminds of my pilgrimage from the UK there at Christmas 2003.

[@N-Scale]

That was a pretty cool trip. Thanks for taking the time and effort to do the video. Mike

[@Starbuckin]

Beautiful! I've done some train related videos myself, Love them!

[@sstflyer5432]

Thanks for Great Memories! I remember going through 'The Loop' on the San Joaquin with my kids.

[@trekmyer4592]

I love this video, I have seen many of your others---will you be making more train vids, this is unbelievably cool.

[@Narpets2112]

Great video! First time I've seen a third track in the loop.

[@bjjt30303]

Short stub siding I have seen used to park MOW/tie cars.

[@nstars100]

Wonderful video, my compliments!

[@bobbrief]

This is amazing. Its your own model railroad.

[@chaunielangland9560]

Excellent video! And a better view than I had from the viewpoint. Thanks for posting this.

[@UnshavenStatue]

That was some impressive flying.

[@BigRichMann]

Xtremely interesting us of the drone!!! 50 Stars is right!!!!

[@daemn42]

Glad you enjoyed it. You might like one of my others "FPV - 3 trains and a plane".

[@sniperjdp]

Very cool, I need one of those things now!

[@Syclone0044]

Absolutely stellar work here! Excellent piloting. This is one hell of a train video my friend!

[@admydragon]

This is so awesome. Just so awesome.

[@paullanyi516]

The Future of Railfanning . . ! : >) Most interesting thing I've seen in some time. Now 'that' would be a great start-up company . . $ $ $

[@ScottishNSRailFan]

Fantastic video. Anybody that dislikes the quadcopter videos is a numpty.

[@daemn42]

He blew the horn entering the tunnel at start of the loop, and again probably in response to the person who was standing on the other track, and then again at a small railroad crossing, and lastly entering the 2nd tunnel. Watched another couple trains come through and they all blew it at least 3 of the 4 same places.

[@degletnoor]

This was bound to happen: The Foamer Drone. Pretty Cool! Thanx.

[@Senor0Droolcup]

Absolutely brilliant....

[@daemn42]

Glad to hear it! I take it you got home ok with all your goodies.

[@lukasvanous_flying_high]

wow.... that is epic view on that loop O.o

[@jhnplsn]

Oops, I failed to read the entire description and missed the bit about why you did not add music. Again, good job.

[@daemn42]

Ya, everyone wanted me to land on the train. The quad is a "Whaka H-Virus Battle Quad". The frame is made from square PVC pipe and coroplast, and only weighs about 150gr before gear. Super durable.

[@2008romboy]

I like the white cross on the hill !))

[@daemn42]

+2008romboy It commemorates two Southern Pacific Railroad workers who were killed in San Bernardino in a derailment from a runaway train coming down Cajon Pass in 1989. There's also a bench facing it near where the driveway crosses the tracks.

[@daemn42]

Some sort of noise cancellation should be able to eliminate much of the prop noise. The props spinning close to the GoPro's side facing microphones actually helps filter out the wind noise. Another option would be to dangle a small microphone with a good wind screen some distance below the quad so the train sounds would be significantly louder than the props.

[@ARCEYE78]

Excellent vid & that train was SO LONG,bloody hell!!,4 tractors pulling all them carriages,very impressive,yep I also think a carriage landing has to be done & maybe get a close up on the driver(with his/her permission of course),cant wait to visit the US,i'm so bored of the UK.

[@ado75]

That was very cool, well done.

[@rwhitenight]

Excellent. Great video :-)

[@pix999]

Nice stuff. I'm thinking it would be cool to see a video with a drone leading a train thru a tunnel, with a camera facing the rear - to watch the train following behind it.

[@Ant0417]

Damn thats a long train! Sweet video and nice piloting!

[@CGT867]

Well done guys!

[@Rocketboy1950]

Very impressive at the 2:30 mark. I have toyed with the idea of a drone but I do like my sound track to be train and not a swarm of bees. Nonetheless, extremely pleasant to watch.

[@daemn42]

Flies about 12 minutes on a 3 cell 4000mAh Lipo (Lithium Polymer) battery pack. Average fast cruise is about 30mph so max range would be about 3 miles (6 minutes out and back) but I rarely go more than 1/2 to 1 mile out. Many other recent videos on my channel showing its capabilities.

[@bophoto]

Very nicely done. I would be worried about landing out in the private fields more than what the quad can do to the train.. +1 the view at 2:30 is a spectacular shot.

[@JOSEALVIM100]

Fantástico! Parabéns pela bela filmagem!

[@MrTREKMYER]

Cool beyond belief-wow.

[@cjeremie]

Really nice!!

[@marcioh123]

near to 15K views Ian!!! nice!

[@BNforever2009]

Wow!!! This is so cool!!!

[@scottdouglas3248]

That is awesome!!

[@kyrkbymannen]

Awesomeness rating, 10!!

[@TheSeaRoach]

I see the train is coming with the stuff I bought on ebay. :DD Cool vid!

[@rvooyen]

Hey, a full sized helix! Thanks, Robert

[@daemn42]

USplastics "PVC Hollow Square Tube" 3/4" OD. They have a 10 foot minimum order, but I told em to cut in exact 3rds and shipping was cheap and fast.

[@BigRichMann]

I'm freaking spoiled now! I've watched other videos of the loop and honestly of trains and this areal footage has spoiled me! Hell this Drum & Bugle Corps in the midwest used one of these and it was fascinating!

[@daemn42]

Glad you enjoyed it. Someone else did one this year you might enjoy. Search for "Tehachapi Loop - Aerial View 2014". he's also got a whole bunch of other fun A/V videos of events like car drifting, and skid plate racing, etc..

[@BigRichMann]

Thank you i will look for it and again.... BRAVO!

[@28gutzy]

So cool!!!

[@swaroopr600]

awesome!! Thanks for sharing

[@arlingtontrains7]

Freaking awsome. Should of went along side the cab :)

[@jhnplsn]

Great shooting with many nice angles to view the scope of the loop and adjoining trackage. Could you add some music or narration to it rather than the sound of the helicopter?

[@ChrisHall]

This was so cool! I felt like I was looking at a train set. Great job! d:~)

[@seabulls69]

Entirely too cool!!

[@2quintly]

Outstanding! ! ! Now if there were just some way to "filter" out the noise of the flying vehicle, . . . . . and more sound from the train. Still, all-in-all GREAT ! ! !

[@meTimetraveler]

totally awesome

[@vegetoast1]

Awesome!

[@5771drgw]

I believe that you believe that railfanning by remote vehicle is fun and a useful tool for that purpose. I agree that it is something that hasn't been tried often and you've demonstrated that you can build, safely and properly operate a remote vehicle to a positive end. Believing though that they are never going to be a meaningful threat to a train is folly. Someone, somewhere will challenge the notion. What you are doing is advancing railfanning for the rest of us which is a good thing.

[@BaronvonBavert]

super , klasse video !!!

[@daemn42]

It's being piloted through the camera on the aircraft. Search for "FPV"

[@daemn42]

Just a railfan with a camera. It's a popular place.

[@johnniebgoode]

outstanding!

[@hmdrfk6395]

great job freinds

[@SheltonDCruz]

brilliant!

[@daemn42]

Yep. Everyone knows *real* trains don't loop around over themselves like that. :-) The little guy standing on the tracks waving, was really tricky to model.

[@daemn42]

Yes it was quite windy.

[@alcosound]

Verrry nice! I suppose it was windy, hence the somewhat jerky movements of the quadcopter? N.F.

[@alantrains]

Great Video. I just marvel at your ability to fly that thing and get great camera angles. Wonder where the mix of our two hobbies will end up?

[@daemn42]

They would. Neither control or video signal passes through the ground. Only way to fly through a tunnel is to stand in front of it, which is obviously not practical here.

[@Longshadowsmodeltrees]

Right in my area.... Derailment at Keene this morning...

[@wizehopt]

This is really great, what kind of rig did you use, ie camera and drone? Im heading to brazil to make a film on trains and this would be amazing to have. What is the cost of a set up like that and where could I find info on one of those drones? Thanks, great shots by the way!

[@daemn42]

It's a scratch built H-frame quad copter. Search for "Whaka battle quad"

[@ichromax7]

All you had to do was follow the damn train cj

[@saez71]

¡¡¡geniaL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@2008romboy]

+daemn42 Oh wow, that's very interesting and respectful! That certainly makes this place even more special. Also I always wondered if this kind of filming isn't illegal according to law, (trains, planes, federal buildings etc) since I'm thinking of getting myself a drone with cameras for recreational activities.

[@daemn42]

+2008romboy Not sure how you put trains in the same category as planes and federal buildings, but no, it's not illegal to film them. A hobby drone is no threat to a train. They do care when you stand on their property though. Filming planes would be a pretty bad idea. FAA doesn't want drones near airports and full scale aircraft, and neither does anyone else. While not technically illegal to film most federal buildings, you could certainly get hassled by local LEOs.

[@BravoGolfII]

Nice job! I had never heard of the Tehachapi Loop until now. Very cool video. Love the Battle Quad. Meant to ask you where you sourced the square pvc?

[@daemn42]

Just rapid elevation gain. It picks up 77ft (23m) in the loop at only a 2% grade.

[@shayengineer10]

He wasn't tresspassing! He was remotely flying a plane with a video camera.

[@47sanddollars]

Awesome

[@daemn42]

What do you think the power of a 2lb flying drone is? What exactly do you think it can do to a 200 ton locomotive engine or 10,000 ton train? What can it do, that someone with physical access to the tracks, or line of sight to the train can't do? Seriously.

[@lougedo07]

nice takes! You should try to land it on the top of one wagon XD What quad is it? QAV500 or similar?

[@daemn42]

It's a home built quad based on someone else's design. Search for "Whaka Battle H Virus"

[@chakatania]

Great video. Take out the drone audio and put some "travelin' music" in there!

[@shayengineer10]

And were he was standing, isn't railroad property...it's private property (notice the farm and the animals and tractors, etc. The owner will give you permission to stand there if you ask!)

[@ppfoten211]

Do they normally blow horns so often going around the loop or was that in response to the drone?

[@sparkerkingap]

Foamers now have drones!