I always thought of myself as relatively historically literate so this bit of American History came as a bit of a shock when I recently learned of it. Over about 75 years from the mid 19th century to the early 20th century, 200,000 (mostly orphan) children were taken from American cities and sent across the country via train to be put up for adoption. Is the account I heard even accurate? What actually became of them? I read that one went on to become a Supreme Court Justice but Google yielded no results when I tried to ascertain which Justice rode the Orphan Trains.
This is such a fascinating question. Generally, babies on the orphan train were adopted by parents seeking to add to their families. Older children faced hardship and abuse. Some were used as cheap labor by rural families.
It does not appear that child abuse was a factor in ending the orphan trains. Many Midwestern states adopted laws that stopped interstate adoption of disabled, ill, and "incorrigible" children.
The latter is quite interesting. To a certain extent, these children were viewed as threats to the communities they were placed. Fear of outsiders prompted the laws, not an interest in protecting children.
There is a database -- the National Orphan Train Complex is actively seeking to preserve the history. Their web site has interesting links: http://orphantraindepot.org/
For a fictionalized account, do read "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline. It is about a young Irish immigrant who is sent west after losing her family to disease and fire. It's a fantastic book and you'll fly through it!