(The following story by Rick Brundrett appeared on The State website on July 1.)
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The type of “black box” recorder used by the moving train in the Graniteville wreck will be phased out under a federal rule issued Thursday.
The Federal Railroad Administration is requiring that all railroads replace older-model recorders, which use magnetic tapes, with models equipped with computer chips. The recorders, made from steel, typically are about the size of a shoe box.
The newer models are designed to capture more data about a wreck, such as horn activation, cruise control functions and operating directives sent to the engineer’s onboard display, FRA spokesman Warren Flatau said.
“Any time you have an accident on the scale or consequence of Graniteville, it could aid an investigation further by providing more information,” he said.
About 4,000 of the nation’s 28,000 locomotives owned by the largest railroads still use the older models, Flatau said. Magnetic-tape models must be phased out in all locomotives by Oct. 1, 2009, he said.
The moving train in the Jan. 6 Graniteville crash that killed nine was equipped with the older model recorder, said Keith Holloway, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash.
Holloway said it’s not known whether a newer model would have helped the NTSB investigation.
Steve Seeling, father of Christopher Seeling, 28, of West Columbia, a Norfolk Southern engineer killed in the Graniteville wreck, said Thursday the information recovered from the recorder in his son’s locomotive exonerates him.
“Everything they checked out regarding Chris’ speeds and his behavior was right down the line,” Seeling said. “It was perfect.”
Norfolk Southern spokeswoman Susan Terpay referred questions to the NTSB.
Christopher Seeling’s 42-car train slammed into a parked Norfolk Southern train next to Avondale Mills, releasing a plume of deadly chlorine from a ruptured tank car on the moving train.
NTSB investigators have said the crash occurred after a manual switch wasn’t returned to the main track. Lawsuits allege the three-man crew of the parked train was responsible for the switch; Norfolk Southern fired the crew after the wreck.