Historical Background

The railway history of the most northern part of Germany had been dominated by three large railway corporations. There had been of course also several minor companies which had been bought by the large corporations mostly. But some minor companies grew to large corporations as well. During the late 19th century some railway companies had been founded in order to replace the rotten country roads. 

Hamburg, at this time a city state, did not possess a railway of its own but built track connections (Hamburg-Altonaer-Verbindungsbahn) for the “foreign” railway companies which had their terminal stations in Hamburg. Most of these stations were replaced by a large central station at the turn of the century.

Short Game Description

At the start the minor railway companies being sold via simultaneous bidding. Thereaf-ter the certificates of the railway corporations can be bought in a given order. The selling price is printed on the certificates (as in 1835). The minor railway companies have an individual, limited number of track building activities. There are two types of minor railway companies. Three companies will be auctioned among the railway corporations while the other two will be converted into railway corporations. Both, the auction and the conversion may only take place after a minor railway company has use all its track building actions.  A railway corporation which has acquired a minor railway will exchange the home station of the minor railway with an additional own station marker. This may enable a corporation to enter into an area which is otherwise not or hardly accessible.

There is also a variant where the auction of the minor railways is replaced by exchange certificates. The owner of a minor railway may exchange it against a certificate of an active railway corporation of his/her choice. Another variant provides two additional railway corporations.

Differences  vs. previous versions

The version 4.0 has a slightly updated map which contains  in addition a table for display of the latest income of the corporations. The rules have been revised and  the type 8-train starts  gray phase now . Unused exchange station markers may be used as  normal station markers later in the game. The  linkings of all off-board   connections is no longer a game end condition. There are also cubes to mark harbour towns when the distingtive  blue name has been disappiered after upgrading the hex.

There is a "Minimum Upgrade Kit" availabe as well as a "Maximum Upgrade Kit". The  latter contains in addition the complete rules instead of the rule changes only and a complete set of Corporation Charters which show now a storage place for exchange station markers.