Railway Empire is a train business management simulator where you construct a railway system to connect cities of early America and turn a profit. You place tracks and stations to link rural businesses with cities for supply, processing and distribution of goods. There are other train games, but the focus on business logistics and efficiency here tells a unique story of how the intercontinental railroad was built.

You complete tasks assigned by historical figures, based on real events that took place during the construction of the first railroad in America. You do this by placing train stations in cities or next to farms, and then building tracks between train stations. Trains can either transport freight goods like meat, vegetables and cotton, or mail and passengers. You have to choose what locomotive to use for each journey and employ employees to work on your most important trains.

After the first few scenarios, competitors are introduced. These rival tycoons will try to create a better railway system that more people use, which includes building new train stations near yours to steal your customers. You can deal with this by finding other sources of materials, hiring a criminal to fight back illegally, or by streamlining your service so that you have the faster trains. Each scenario begins with a set amount of money, which prompts you to decide which cities, farms and routes will be the most profitable.

The result is a game that combines a human-infrastructure story with all its complexity. The added focus on a specific historical period lends the experience a sense of place that other train simulations often lack.