During the 19th century, the German railway network expanded rapidly. However, technical progress was due not only to the ever-growing traffic network, but was accelerated by the construction of more and more powerful locomotives.

Lokomotive Werks is an economic game in which players purchase the ability to produce engines, pay workers to produce them, and sell to the volatile, dice-driven market. The game is best known for its unique market mechanism in which the demand for older train models dries up, often at a rapid pace as new technology is implemented.