New York had tons of street children.  Farmers in the midwestern U.S. needed help shucking corn.  So putting a bunch of orphans on trains to Kansas to be claimed by farmers was a win-win, right?

Sources:

Prairie Public short videos

https://www.history.com/news/orphan-trains-childrens-aid-society

Orphan Trains Brought Homeless NYC Children to Work on Farms Out West by Erin Blackmore

Riding An Orphan Train West in 1859, A Tough Street Kid Named John Brady Formed a Friendship With Fellow Orphan Andrew Burke.  One Would Grow Up to Govern Alaaska; The Other, North Dakota By Victoria Mechler

https://www.cowboysindians.com/2017/05/orphan-train-friends-and-future-governors/