Lionel Trains Presents Trans-Con!

Cover art

Lionel Trains Presents Trans-Con! is an Edutainment game released in the late 1990s on Compact Disc. It was compatible with Microsoft Windows. The game tasks the player with the construction of the Transcontinental railroad and foiling a plot, exposing the player to various historical facts and trivia along the way.

The gameplay is mixed into different sections. Part of the game is a resource management simulation about building track between destinations under a limited budget. Another part involves isometric adventure sections where the player must deal with an problem or outlaw. Finally the player must tie the two together in their HQ, working to solve a plot.

Despite being an edutainment game aimed at children, the graphical quality and voice acting was relatively high quality for the genre at the time.

Tropes used in Lionel Trains Presents Trans-Con! include:
  • An Entrepreneur Is You: The rail building sections involve the player laying out track while keeping financial considerations in mind.
  • Artistic License: Obviously the events of the game and some of the tech the player had were not based in reality.
  • Big Bad: The mastermind of the plot against the railroad.
  • Boring but Practical: The simple bridge designs are often more expedient if the terrain doesn't require it.
  • Cool Train: The HQ car features a variety of steampunk like gadgets. The futuristic train in the ending also counts.
  • Digitized Sprites: Used in the adventure sections.
  • Edutainment Game: Skews more towards entertainment with some Acceptable Breaks From Reality
  • Geo Effects: Different terrain can influence the cost of building rail.
  • Excited Show Title!: The title has an exclamation point.
  • Helium Speech: The player can administer helium to captured outlaws as an interrogation technique.
  • Historical Domain Character: Outlaws such as Black Bart make an appearance. Some of the heroes are also based on real figures.
  • Licensed Game: Uses the Lionel branding.
  • Video Game Cruelty Potential: Players can use Helium to torment captives.
  • Video Game Cruelty Punishment: Taking actions that upset others is typically punished.
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