Accidents of this class will be minimized if in every case the slack is taken up slowly. A steady pull will not break the draft rigging of the car, whereas a sudden jerk may pull it out. In case a train does break in two, the engine and front portion should be kept in motion until the rear portion has been stopped. In so doing a collision may be avoided. Where air brakes are applied to the entire train, the rear portion will stop first owing to the proportional increase of weight and momentum of the locomotive.
Freight trains require on the whole more careful handling than passenger trains.
There is more slack in the couplings of the former than in the latter and the trains are much longer, consequently the shocks at the rear of a freight train, due to variation in speed, are much more severe than on passenger trains. The system of handling, while practically the same for both classes, requires more care in order to avoid accidents with a freight train than with a passenger train. When the run has been finished, the engineer should make a careful inspection of all parts of the engine so as to be able to report any repairs which may be needed in order to fit the locomotive for the next run. The roundhouse hostler should then take the engine and have the tender loaded with coal, the tank filled with water, and the fire cleaned. The engine should then be put over the pit in the roundhouse, carefully wiped, and again inspected for defects.