From The Lion Roars, Dec. 1996 issue, says
"It offers so much, I am not sure where to begin"
"All you do it Point & Click ... I didn't find a need to read it [the manual] before beginning."
"Very professionally produced"
"LIONEL on CD-ROM" from The Lion Roars, published by the Lionel Collectors Club of America(LCCA), Vol. 26, No. 3, December, 1996.
Now you call even peruse a full complement of Lionel product right on your computer!
An all-new product has been developed by a company called Prairie Multimedia and uses the vast resources of TM Books and Videos.
The contents of the CD-ROM have been compiled from the classic TM books: Lionel - A Collector's Guide and History, TM videos, and the latest 1997 TM Price and Rarity Guide. This first CD-ROM deals with the postwar era and includes a complete catalog of all postwar trains, including sets, rolling stock, accessories and more. In fact, the CD-ROM contains the entire contents of A Lionel Collector's Guide and History - Volume 2, the TM classic which is now out of print.
The CD-ROM contains over 1,300 photographs of Lionel items and of variations. It offers so much that I'm not sure exactly where to begin to describe it all to you.
As most of us probably do, I installed the disk on my computer and went immediately to looking it over without reading the manual. If you've used any CD-ROM software on your computer, then you'll have no trouble navigating through this one. If you've never used any CD-ROM software you'll have great fun learning while you explore Lionel information.
All you do is point and click and you can't do any damage if you click the wrong item. The manual is provided on the disk and is available through the help menu. I didn't find a need to read it before beginning. After spending considerable time with the program, I looked at the text in the help menu and learned that there were several features I hadn't discovered in my initial look.
The CD-ROM has been very professionally produced and includes sound, music and video clips in addition to many photos, catalog shots and text.
The disk includes textual descriptions of every catalog item along with a listing of any variations of that item. There are color images for most of the items and video clips showing many of them in action.
In addition to cataloging Lionel items, there is also a section on History where you can click on one of several timeframes and read a history of that period. This text is also supplemented by photos and catalog shots.
The screen is very intuitive. For example if you are looking at an item and the rarity level is listed as 4, you can click on this and the definition of that rating will appear.
Each item includes the years in which the item was cataloged. If you click on one of the years, a color photo of the catalog cover for that year appears.
The pictures are extremely clear, and if you need a closer look, just click it and you go into the close-up view. In this mode the photo is full screen on your computer. Clicking the sides of the photo allow you to move it back and forth to see all you need to.
Many items have more than one photo and you can select to view a different one. The availability of additional items is apparent by way of a special railroad block signal which appears on screen. The block signal alerts you to appropriate video clips, more textual info, and additional photos.
There are even photos and values of many of the boxes. Some of the general categories also have additional information. Clicking, for example on the Diesels - F3 category brings up additional info on them.
When you go into a particular category, you can scroll through the items in numerical order. Of, I you know what you want to find information on, you can start a Find/Search function which will quickly bring you right to what you want.
When you first enter the program, music starts and you have a choice of where to branch off to. You can select the era of Lionel you wish to look at.
Clicking on prewar or modern era, gives you a history of each. Clicking the postwar era gives you more choices. Choose between history, trains, TRAINetwork or help.
By clicking on Trains, you are presented with several general categories, such as Diesels, Accessories, Rolling Stock and much more. Clicking one of those takes you immediately to that section.
While you're doing this, music by Pat Metheny is played. If you are using this when your spouse is trying to get some rest, the options allow you to turn the sound off. Future disks will provide the same type of info for both prewar and modern eras.
In addition to showing all this information, the program will maintain a database file for your own collection.
While you're viewing an item, you simply click on the name you've entered and you merely check off the condition of your own piece. All you have to do is click on the condition and the value is automatically entered.
You can even keep track of more than one collection, by simply entering different names for additional collections. When you view an item that you've marked as being in your own collection, the value of your item is displayed as well as the total value of your postwar collection.
There is also the ability to create a wish list in the same way. Printing options allow for separate reports for each collection and by individual category.
Going further into the program, there is also a tours area where you can choose among several offerings. One shows photos of Lionel's 1949 layout and videos of a replica of the famous layout in operation. Another option in the tours area shows video clips of all sorts of toy train wrecks and mishaps.
There is also a section here which explains about fakes and how to spot them. This section includes photos of many of them. Yet another tour has video clips of Lionel trains in operation in night scenes.
If you get the idea that searching all around this CD was fun. I must tell you that I found myself spending a great deal time exploring all the information on the disk. It was not only fun, but a very easy way to have access to a great amount of information.
This program has been designed and produced by Prairie Multimedia and is being distributed to train enthusiasts by TM Books and Videos. This is the first of three Lionel Train CD-ROMs to be offered. This first one is out now and available. The price is $59.95 and it runs on a PC under Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. Macintosh users have not been forgotten and a Mac release is due out in February, 1997. A Modern era CD-ROM is expected out by the [second quarter] of '97 and a Prewar CD-ROM will be out by [fourth] quarter '97. Each of these will be produced for both PC and the Mac...
One final concern I had was how often would I have to replace this CD-ROM to get upgraded values. Here's where the designers engineered value in to the package. You will be able to update the values without replacing the disk by merely downloading upgrade files which the CD-ROM will access. These will also be available on floppy disks at reasonable cost. For more information or to place an order, contact TM Books and Videos at 1-800-892-2822.