Bear Creek, AL is a great place to be a teacher if you're a railfan (and even if your not but the RR is definitely a plus for me). The Norfolk Southern track is between the highway and the school and I can see the track from inside my classroom (my students think I'm crazy). I was working at a football game there last night and witnessed 3 engines pulling 2 or 3 gray covered hoppers (northbound at low speed). The first engine had the old green/black BN paint scheme with white numbers but no letters. The second engine had the orange/green/yellow BNSF scheme with no letter/numbers. The 3rd engine was blue with white trim (it may have had markings but I was really focused on BN & BNSF look-a-likes). Again...this was all on a Norfolk Southern line from Jasper, AL to Muscle Shoals/Florence, AL. I've seen enough BNSF on this line to assume they have trackage rights (BNSF runs through Jasper for those not familiar with Jasper, AL) but the lack of lettering on what was apparently a BN and a BNSF unit aroused my curiousity. I know this really has nothing to do with the Frisco other than the Frisco/BN/BNSF history but can anyone shed any light on the subject of unlettered BN and BNSF units on a Norfolk Southern line? I'm just curious as to why they had the paint shemes with no lettering.
Sounds like a trio of "rent-a-wreck" lease locomotives to me. It's not uncommon for secondhand locomotives to be purchased by leasing companies with just a minimum of lettering. CEFX and FURX are two that come to mind.
