Train Drone Videos

The Alaska Railroad is the sole operating railroad in this gigantic state of Alaska, the USA's 49th state.  It is a Class II railroad which runs about 740 km (470 mi) from the southern part of the state up to Fairbanks in the north.  Due to the difficulty of railroad construction in the Arctic and near-Arctic conditions, it is the only rail service in the USA to carry passenger and freight trains on the same system.  Contributor Alaska42 used a drone to get an aerial view of a train running through the winter landscape.  

The Amtrak train route between Southern and Northern California is one of the busiest passenger routes in the USA, and its trains streak up and down the West Coast at high speeds by American railway standards.  In this video, contributor Steven Conroy used some great drone piloting skills combined with a great post-production edit to create this amazing aerial view of a 5 km (3 mi) chase down the California coast.  

The Tulip Viaduct is a train bridge which spans about 700 meters (2.3k ft) in the Midwestern state of Indiana.  Constructed in 1906, it was (for a time) the longest train trestle in the United States.  Contributor dru.43pro used a DJI Phantom 4 drone to make an aerial video of this landmark.  The magnificent video shows the lush Indiana landscape surrounding the bridge and concludes with a bird's eye view of a train speeding along its steel rails.  

Even though the Age of Steam has passed, there remains a profound fascination with the idea that giant trains could be propelled with steam generated by burning coal.  Near Lake Bled, Slovenia, an old bridge carries steam trains across the Vintgar Gorge.  It's just a few km/mi from Lake Bled, probably the most well known spot in the country.  Contributor Kohlman Aerials made this short but impressive drone video of this scene, which appears to be something out of the 19th century.  

Copper Canyon is one of the great natural treasures of Mexico. Situated in the northwestern state of Chihuahua, it's actually a system of six connected canyons formed by six different rivers which drain the nearby mountains into the Gulf of California.  The main canyon is traversed by a railroad, construction of which took over four decades due to the challenging conditions.  Award winning contributor PostandFly created this incredible drone video of the magnificent canyon and its train line.

The 400 meter (1.3k ft) Ribblehead Viaduct was opened in 1875 to carry trains across a valley in North Yorkshire, England.  The bridge was one of the key pieces of infrastructure to allow frequent and smooth north-south train passage between England and Scotland.  Contributor Stratus Imagery used a drone to film the Flying Scotsman Edinburgh-London train making its way over the famous viaduct.  

The vast but loosely defined area known as West Texas has only one city (El Paso) and that is at its extreme western end.  Apart from that, the most recognizable landmarks of this region are the railroads that cross it and the giant wind turbines built to capture the strong winds which sweep it.  Tampa Randy created this amazing drone video, capturing a stretch of the BNSF railway line and a backdrop of gigantic windmills.  Texas has one of the world's largest fleets of wind turbines.

Contributor Joshua Paul Gardner created this epic drone video of the Poppy Line railroad, a historical steam railway line in Norfolk, England.  The 8 km (5 mi) track, runs through a beautiful stretch of this area of central England's East Anglia region, a two hour drive from London.  He does an excellent job of aerially filming the locomotive and six cars along the length of the track, once part of a larger railroad system that served the region.

Drone Hunter brings this amazing drone video of an event most people don't know exists - a train race!  The Puffing Billy Railway, a heritage steam line north of Melbourne in Australia's Victoria state, puts on an event every year where two of its steam-driven trains go head to head on the narrow gauge track.  The event is a reminder of the importance of railroads  to the development of Victoria, which exploded in a gold mining rush in the 1850's and for a time was Britain's wealthiest colony.

Katie.j11 created this awesome bird's eye look at the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railway in New Mexico.  The narrow-gauge historic railroad runs just over 100 km (around 60 mi.) between  Antonito, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico in the Southwestern USA.  Famously, the railroad was the filming location for a chase scene in the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the third installment of the Indiana Jones series which was a collaboration between Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.  

Check out this video for a rare look at one of Japan's bullet trains.  Known as the Shinkansen, it's a network of rail lines which collectively cover almost 2.8k km (1.7k mi.).  Top speeds of these trains reach 240-320 km/h (150-200 mi/h), and can in the right circumstances be faster than flying between certain cities.  Watch the video and you'll get a sense for how fast these trains move; you will also realize how impressive Japan's safety record is given the speeds involved.  

Lakelside & Haverthwaite Railway is a historical railroad which runs about 5 km (3 mi.) through Cumbria in the Lakes District of Northern England.  Sections of the road were once used to film footage for the Thomas the Tank Engine TV series.  In this drone video by Joshua Paul Gardner, you'll get an amazing bird's eye view of this historic railroad, which runs through an area of some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the entire United Kingdom.