The funny thing is that the rollers were OK, grease was still packed
around the rollers and it was not burnt. The races overheated, but the
rollers were still intact and not turned coler nor pitted.
I have never seen bearings fail like this.
Was the inner race spinning on the spindle? (i.e. spindle worn too small
and\or
race ID too large).
That would explain having grease still packed on the rollers, yet blueing
on the spindle less than 1/4" away.