Many, many stock trains ran in the East. If you model that era, a place to stop and water the livestock is a must. Fed laws said you had to do this. These trains went to major cities for butchering of the cattle, sheep, hogs, etc. This was before refrigeration made inrodes into shipping livestocki. The King Rance also ran trains from Texas to PA during certain times of the year. They had land for the cattle to fatten up in PA before being shipped to wholesalers.