On Feb. 1, 1864, Newport joined the 19th century when a passenger train made its way on to Aquidneck Island for the first time.

Steam engines first appeared in England in the 1820s and the mode of transportation made it across the Atlantic by 1830. The Old Colony Railroad line was chartered in 1844 and made its first run between Boston and Plymouth on Nov. 10, 1845. The line grew by leaps and bounds over the next 20 years, as railroads became the preferred method of travel. Construction of the Fall River-Newport connection began in 1862 and was completed two years later.

The route was popular because rail passengers could get off in Newport and board a steamer bound for New York City. But the beginning of the end for train travel began about 1889, when trolley cars made their first appearance on Aquidneck Island. The advent of the automobile hastened that demise.

Train service here reached its peak in 1912, when 24 passenger trains arrived and departed daily between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.

By 1929, however, the Mount Hope Bridge opened, providing a new route on to the island for car traffic. By 1937, passenger service had been reduced to one trip a day. Passenger service was discontinued the following year, but freight service continued into the 1960s. David Hansen. Daily News staff

The photo at left shows a passenger engine cruising through the Point section of Newport around 1900. In the background is the Walnut Street overpass. Unlike today, there were no fences separating the rails from nearby buildings or gated crossings over the tracks. The rails perpendicular to the tracks in the foreground provided a raised crossing for horses.