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[quote user="cordon"]The RRs should do whatever it takes to have forward-looking video cameras operating at all times.  They should make up kits ASAP for locomotives that don't have them already installed.  These days, video cameras and VCRs are relatively cheap.  Insurance companies might well be willing to pay for them because of the protection they would provide against liability. [/quote]  I have been wondering about the use of video cameras.  Back in the 1980s, I was doing some work that involved video, and I thought it would be a great idea to apply video cameras to locomotives to make an official record of the events along the run.  The compact cameras were readily available, but I worked out a package and operation system to apply them to locomotives.  I called this device a Locomotive Headway Recorder.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p>   The main point was to be able to apply them to existing locomotives with no modification to the locomotive, except for the addition of a small, exterior mounting bracket on the cab near the top.  So the whole unit would be as independent of the locomotive as possible.  This attribute would allow existing locomotives to be equipped with cameras as quickly as possible. <o:p></o:p> My concept would entail a battery powered, portable camera/recorder package about the size of a lunch bucket.  It would be hung on the mounting bracket at the start of each run much like the official hanging of marker lamps on cabooses in the past.  It would turn on automatically when plugged onto the mounting bracket, and an external indicator would light up to prove the unit is running.  It would record in a continuous loop of some length.  It would also have a STOP & LOCK button.  In the event of a crossing crash or other major event, the stop & lock button would be pressed to cease operation and preserve the loop.  Then the unit would be removed and processed to recover the data.  Between runs, these units would be stored on a battery-charging stand.   <o:p></o:p> Compared to a state of the art, comprehensive video surveillance system, this would have been relatively unsophisticated.  But it would have been practical, simple, and capable of being quickly executed and applied at a relatively low cost.  All you would need to do to the locomotives is screw the mounting bracket on to them.      <o:p></o:p> Whether or not this concept could have been developed and marketed, I don’t know, since I never pursued it.  I don’t know if any locomotives had video cameras in 1986, but with my concept, it seemed they could all have been equipped by 1990.  Today, we have cameras gradually being applied to locomotives as an integrated system.  From what I understand, though, we are still a long way from universal application to all locomotives.  Considering the obvious financial benefit of reducing liability costs arising from crossing crashes, I would think that railroad companies would want to get their locomotives equipped as soon as possible.  Maybe someone else here can explain how this is moving forward and some of the pros and cons. <o:p></o:p> One discouraging thought about this video idea occurred to me back in 1986.  That was that the railroad companies might not want to have video evidence brought into the courtroom because the shear brutality of a crash may work against the company when it is processed by the jury.    <o:p></o:p> Here is a link about the application of video cameras to locomotives:   <A href="http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_trains14.43587e5.html" mce_href="http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_trains14.43587e5.html">http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_trains14.43587e5.html</A>
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