Pusher in Jersey?

About 4:30pm today, I was traveling west on Rt.22 where it parallels the ConrailSA line in Newark and Hillside. There was a container train going west bound with one loco, CSX8770, on the head. I thought that was unusual. actually I can not recall seeing a container train with less than two locos on this line. Traffic as it was, it wasn't to long when the end of the train came buy with what I think was CSX 4784 (obscured by brush) on the tail and it sounded like it was pushing. Cab was to the rear.
Any comments?

Before someone suggests a dead-head move, I do not think they would run a dead engine at the end of the train.

I believe the train you saw was the Q191 which goes from SK to Philly....The probable reason for the engine on the rear end is so they can use that engine and not turn it for the trip back north.....

Steve

Sometimes when NYSW trains are long enough they will usually require 1 to 2 helpers to get over the grade. Sometimes they will use a GP40 (if ones down there) or the last time i saw it happened they used 2 GP18's to help push the train over the grade.

Steve's guess on Q191 sounds right; I heard this train working at South Kearny mid afternoon today. In addition, this train makes a reverse move to get to it's terminus at South Philadelphia, so perhaps CSX is running it "Pull-Pull" style to eliminate the runaround move at Abrams yard.

This train handles double stacks between South Kearny and South Philadelphia. It operates under catenary wires on the West Trenton Line between West Trenton, NJ and CP Wood (Woodbourne, PA) where it uses the Wood Connecting track (Built as part of the Conrail/State Of Pennsylvania double stack clearance project) to access NS' Morrisville Line. The train goes west onto the Harrisburg Line near Norristown Line and was doing a run around move at Abrams before going east.

It makes this move to avoid low clearances further south of Woodbourne on the Trenton Line. I'm not that familiar with the Philadelphia network, so I don't know which lines are used to finally reach South Philadelphia.