Little Haywood Rail Embankment

AMCO Giffen asked me to nip down to Little Haywood – a sleepy spot about fifteen minutes outside Stafford – and document their week-long job stabilising the rail embankment.

Brief was simple: grab “before” shots and drone footage while the lads were grafting, then swing back once the ballast had settled to show the finished article.

Bank Holiday Monday: The “Before” Visit

Only window I could make was Bank Holiday Monday – so while most folk were nursing barbecues, the crew were out on a closed line shifting spoil.

Weather kept flicking between “lush summer postcard” and “grey Yorkshire drizzle,” but the wind stayed under 25 mph, so the drone was good to fly.

• Location: trackside compound – no track-access permit yet.
• First impressions: embankment stripped bare; years of brambles and saplings gone.
• Gear in the air: drone sweeping over the Canal, river bends, and a sea of green – textbook English countryside.

Action Shot of the Day

Mid-afternoon the team tipped a wagon-load of cobble-sized aggregate into a geotextile pocket.
I parked the drone overhead and let it hover while the digger danced back and forth.
Lovely sequence – proper “this is how we did it” material.

Sunday Return: The “After” Visit

Fast-forward six days. Nathan sorted me a Track Visitor Permit, so this time I was boots-on-ballast with a Canon R5 over one shoulder and the drone on standby.

• Late start (thanks, M6): rolled in just before the 13:00 shift change.
• Wind & rain: classic British summer – watch the clouds, dash the drone out, yank it back in.
• Low-level passes: flying about 10 metres above the railhead for sweeping left-to-right pans of the whole bank.

Because I could get within arm’s reach of the works, the 70-200 mm lens earned its keep – catching the anchors, grout rods and kit that’d vanish from sight in a wide drone frame.
A few quick 360° panos went up on Kula for interactive good measure.

What I Delivered

• Two folders of graded drone stills showing before-and-after conditions.
• 30+ ground shots on the R5 – close-ups of anchors, machinery, and the final surface.
• A set of five stitched panoramas for the “big-picture” view.
• All individual drone clips – from 5-second snippets to 15-minute continuous runs.
• 4-minute highlights reel with licensed music.
• 15-minute no-cuts compilation for the engineers who love the detail.

Why It Matters

Those embankment rods and fresh stone might not look flashy in a single photo, but stitched together – drone, stills, 360s – they tell the whole story: steep slope, heavy kit, tight schedule, job done. AMCO Giffen now have ready-made visuals for bids, presentations, and the inevitable LinkedIn bragging rights.

Kit List (for the nerds)

• DJI Mini 3 PRO
• Canon R5 + 70–200 mm f/2.8
• Plenty of ND filters, spare props, and a flask of tea – lifesaver when the rain hit

Big Takeaways

1. Plan for permits. Track-side shots are fine, but nothing beats standing on the sleepers.
2. Weather rules the schedule. Drone first when the sky’s playing nice; ground kit when it turns moody.
3. Give clients more than they ask for. They wanted drone footage; they got a full visual toolkit.

Job done, memory cards backed up, and another chunk of railway made safer – all wrapped in time for a Sunday roast on the drive home.