Do trains have black boxes?

What trains have it, what don't?

any main line locomotive in US has what they call a event recorder, it record power settings, brake applications, bell, horn, headlight, speed and if Cab signal is used then indication received.

TSB of Canada has been agitating for audio cab recording for some time, but the feds won't legislate it and the rail companies won't install voluntarily without them having access rather than just TSB.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/tsb-recom ... -1.2495458" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

other than in freight, the voice recorders are useless, on passenger trains with one operator the only thing you will hear when something goes wrong is " Ohh Sh*t"
radio conversations are already recorded.

DutchRailnut wrote:other than in freight, the voice recorders are useless, on passenger trains with one operator the only thing you will hear when something goes wrong is " Ohh Sh*t"
radio conversations are already recorded.

In Canada, VIA runs with two engineers in the cab. The VIA 92 investigation could have used them (three engineers in cab, critical signal missed) and a forward camera (to verify the signal actually displayed).

Via is only carrier with two engineers, other Canadian passenger carriers don't.