In 1851, when the little town of Pine Village was established by Isaac and John R. Metsker, everyone traveled by horse and buggy. When the railroad came to Pine Village in the 1870s, it expanded the villagers' world, allowing them to travel outside of the local community and visit faraway places. At the turn of the century, they could board one of the three passenger trains that came through Pine Village daily, with the exception of Sundays, when trains did not run to observe the sabbath.

The Indiana Coal Rail Road, known as the ICRR, is the first known railroad mentioned in Pine Village history. It began running through Pine Village in the 1870s. The trains traveled just east of the town by the elevator and small group of homes the locals called "Oklahoma". As many as eight trains came through Pine Village a day. These included trains carrying coal and goods, as well as passenger trains, and an occasional train that came for a special event.

At the turn of the century,​ the Chicago Eastern and Illinois Railroad, the C&EI, bought the ICRR. They ran trains until the early 1920's when they stopped making money on passenger trains due to the rising interest in the automobile.

At that point, Charles F. Propst of Paris, Illinois took over the railroad. Many local farmers and business owners put in their own money to keep the railroad going in Pine Village. This railroad became known as the Chicago, Attica, and Southern Railroad. It ran four freight trains per day, two north and two south until the mid-1940s, when the tracks were finally pulled up, ending the era of the steam locomotive for good in Pine Village.