Excerpt
Chapter 1: A Train Like No Other
The train pulled into another small town. It wasn’t carrying passengers going on vacation or coming home from work. It wasn’t filled with suitcases or pets or businessmen reading newspapers. Instead, it was carrying children. Dozens of them. Some were sitting quietly, gripping small bundles of clothes. Others peeked out the windows, their eyes searching for something—anything—that looked familiar. But nothing did. Everything outside was new.
That train had one job: to bring children from crowded cities in the East to towns in the West, where people might take them in and give them a home. It wasn’t a regular train. It was part of something much bigger—something called the Orphan Train Movement.
Now, you might be thinking, why would kids be sent across the country to live with strangers? That’s a pretty big question. The truth is, there weren’t many other options back then. Some children had lost their parents to illness or accidents. Others had families who just couldn’t take care of them anymore. Cities were packed, and there wasn’t enough space or help for all those kids. People believed that children would have a better chance at life if they were sent to small towns and farms out west.
The Orphan Train wasn’t just one train or one trip. It was a series of journeys that happened over many years. More than 100,000 children were sent on these trains between the 1850s and the 1920s. That’s like filling up a big stadium with kids and sending them off to new lives, hoping things would turn out okay.
The train wasn’t fancy. It had wooden seats, little heat in winter, and no snacks being passed around. Some rides lasted days. There were adults called “agents” who watched over the kids and tried to keep things calm. Older kids sometimes helped care for the younger ones. If you were small and didn’t know how to read or write, you might have had to trust a sibling or older friend to explain what was happening.
When the train stopped in a new town, the children would be taken to a hall or a church or even a theater. People from the town would come to take a look. Some were there to adopt. Others were just curious. Children would line up, sometimes holding hands, trying to look neat and well-behaved. Adults might ask them to smile, walk, or read out loud. Decisions were made quickly. You could be picked by a kind farmer who wanted to raise you like his own child—or by someone who needed extra hands for chores.
There weren’t many rules in the beginning. That meant some kids ended up in good places, and others didn’t. Some were given warm beds, a chance to go to school, and people who loved them. Others worked long hours without much kindness. It really depended on who chose you. Over time, the system got a little better, with contracts and checks, but early on, it was risky.
Not every child on the train was an orphan, even though people called it the “Orphan Train.” Some had one parent still alive but too poor to take care of them. Others had families who believed the train offered the best hope for a better future. It’s hard to know how that felt. Exciting? Scary? Both? Probably both.
For the children, leaving home—whether it was an orphanage, a tenement, or a street corner—was a huge deal. They were heading into the unknown, sometimes with just a tag around their neck and a few belongings in a sack. Sometimes brothers and sisters stayed together, but not always. Being separated from your only family member could feel like losing everything all over again.
But not all the memories were sad. Some riders grew up and wrote about their experiences. A few said they cried when they left the train—but later, they were glad they did. They found families who treated them with love and gave them chances they never had before. Others weren’t so lucky and carried those memories with them for the rest of their lives.
The Orphan Train was more than just a way to move kids. It was a huge, complicated effort to solve a giant problem. And while it helped some children, it also raised big questions—like who decides what’s best for someone else? And how do we make sure everyone gets treated fairly?
The train pulled into another small town. It wasn’t carrying passengers going on vacation or coming home from work. It wasn’t filled with suitcases or pets or businessmen reading newspapers. Instead, it was carrying children. Dozens of them. Some were sitting quietly, gripping small bundles of clothes. Others peeked out the windows, their eyes searching for something—anything—that looked familiar. But nothing did. Everything outside was new.
That train had one job: to bring children from crowded cities in the East to towns in the West, where people might take them in and give them a home. It wasn’t a regular train. It was part of something much bigger—something called the Orphan Train Movement.
Now, you might be thinking, why would kids be sent across the country to live with strangers? That’s a pretty big question. The truth is, there weren’t many other options back then. Some children had lost their parents to illness or accidents. Others had families who just couldn’t take care of them anymore. Cities were packed, and there wasn’t enough space or help for all those kids. People believed that children would have a better chance at life if they were sent to small towns and farms out west.
The Orphan Train wasn’t just one train or one trip. It was a series of journeys that happened over many years. More than 100,000 children were sent on these trains between the 1850s and the 1920s. That’s like filling up a big stadium with kids and sending them off to new lives, hoping things would turn out okay.
The train wasn’t fancy. It had wooden seats, little heat in winter, and no snacks being passed around. Some rides lasted days. There were adults called “agents” who watched over the kids and tried to keep things calm. Older kids sometimes helped care for the younger ones. If you were small and didn’t know how to read or write, you might have had to trust a sibling or older friend to explain what was happening.
When the train stopped in a new town, the children would be taken to a hall or a church or even a theater. People from the town would come to take a look. Some were there to adopt. Others were just curious. Children would line up, sometimes holding hands, trying to look neat and well-behaved. Adults might ask them to smile, walk, or read out loud. Decisions were made quickly. You could be picked by a kind farmer who wanted to raise you like his own child—or by someone who needed extra hands for chores.
There weren’t many rules in the beginning. That meant some kids ended up in good places, and others didn’t. Some were given warm beds, a chance to go to school, and people who loved them. Others worked long hours without much kindness. It really depended on who chose you. Over time, the system got a little better, with contracts and checks, but early on, it was risky.
Not every child on the train was an orphan, even though people called it the “Orphan Train.” Some had one parent still alive but too poor to take care of them. Others had families who believed the train offered the best hope for a better future. It’s hard to know how that felt. Exciting? Scary? Both? Probably both.
For the children, leaving home—whether it was an orphanage, a tenement, or a street corner—was a huge deal. They were heading into the unknown, sometimes with just a tag around their neck and a few belongings in a sack. Sometimes brothers and sisters stayed together, but not always. Being separated from your only family member could feel like losing everything all over again.
But not all the memories were sad. Some riders grew up and wrote about their experiences. A few said they cried when they left the train—but later, they were glad they did. They found families who treated them with love and gave them chances they never had before. Others weren’t so lucky and carried those memories with them for the rest of their lives.
The Orphan Train was more than just a way to move kids. It was a huge, complicated effort to solve a giant problem. And while it helped some children, it also raised big questions—like who decides what’s best for someone else? And how do we make sure everyone gets treated fairly?