I can tell you unequivocally that my great grandfather who was a pharmacist in Ekaterinoslav, Russia (before Ukraine became an independent country) and his family (wife and 3 sons) took a train from Ekaterinoslav to Hamburg in 1904 in order to take their ship to New York. I don't know how many stops that they made or if they changed trains anywhere, but that was the preferred method of transportation to the Port if one could afford it.

Phil Goldfarb
Tulsa, Oklahoma USA
phil.goldfarb@...