Sending orphans on trains and leaving them with total strangers with little vetting or followup sounds horrible judging by modern standards. Charles Loring Brace was considered a visionary by many people as the founder of the CAS (Children's Aid Society). Around 250,000 children were processed between 1854 and 1929. They traveled from New York City to many destinations. I decided to read a book about these trains after going to a presentation, at the library, about orphan trains that delivered their "cargo" to Michigan. Unfortunately, since the record keeping and followup was shoddy at best, it is impossible to determine the overall success or failure of this effort. There are many accounts of incredible success stories and of children who suffered terrible abuse. The rampant problems of children abandoned on the streets of New York City including those in the desperately poor Five Points neighborhood compelled the CAS to act. This book gives us a good understanding of the morals and ethics of the times, the conditions the children endured, several examples of these riders, the life of Charles Loring Brace and the history of the orphan trains. ( )