Myrtle Beach Railroading

I know this isn't exactly New York State Railroading, but last week I had the chance to observe the Mid Atlantic Railroad using the drawbridge over the Inland Waterway going into Myrtle Beach proper. This is the first time in 15 years that I have had the pleasure in watching this rare occurance. I may be wrong in stating this, but it seemed as though the person sitting on the front steps of the engine was the engineer also. There was no-one in the cab controling the engine when it went past. Has anyone else experienced this occurance? Are they using some form of remote control?

Thanks in advance,
Jack