By Railfan & Railroad Staff

This month, CSX Transportation released its fifth heritage unit, ES44AC-H 1869 (formally 3061), painted in tribute to the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. The locomotive was painted at CSX’s Waycross, Ga., paint shop. Like the previous four (Baltimore & Ohio, Chessie System, Seaboard System and Conrail), the locomotive features the standard CSX scheme on the front end and the heritage scheme on the back, which some enthusiasts have likened to a “mullet” (a hairstyle often described as “business up front, party in the back”). 

CSX has been mum about how many heritage units it plans on painting, but a list that circulated online earlier this year suggested there would be at least two dozen specially-painted locomotives. 

Meanwhile, some historically-minded vandals in Georgia who apparently are not impressed with CSX’s efforts took matters into their own hands. Under cover of darkness last week, CSX GP40-2 6914 (built as C&O 4411) had its nose repainted with the Chessie System cat. Images of the locomotive began to appear online last Thursday and it’s been used in service the last few days. It’s unclear how long the unofficial heritage unit will remain in Chessie System paint, but thus far reviews from the enthusiasts have been positive. 

CSX’s heritage fleet comes as more and more railroads are producing specially painted tribute locomotives, including most recently Metro-North. Norfolk Southern also announced a few months ago that it would be refreshing its fleet of heritage units painted about a decade ago. With the addition of the CSX units, the only Class I railroad to not have some sort of heritage unit program in BNSF. The closest the big Western road has gotten was putting the logos of predecessor roads on the side of some locomotives back in 2020 to celebrate its 25th anniversary.