- Orphan Trains From about 1850 through the early twentieth century, thousands of children were transfered from the overcrowded orphanages and homes in the large cities in the northeastern United States, to live with families on farms throughout the middle West. The name orphan train originates with the railroad trains that transported the children to their new homes. While some of the children ...www.outfitters.com/~melissa/ot/ot.html