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1858: The Railways of Iberia

Designer: Ian D. Wilson

The Iberian Peninsula with 22 privates that eventually convert into shares of the operating companies, dual track gauge, and both 5- and 10-share companies.

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1. Setting, map and number of players
1830 covers the northeastern US for 2-6 players. 1858 moves the action to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), following the region's historical railway development, for 3-6 players (a 2-player variant exists with a restricted board), in games lasting around 4 hours.

2. Twenty-two privates with no treasury of their own
In 1830 every private simply pays its owner a fixed income each turn. In 1858 privates have no treasury at all: when their owner builds on the private's home hex (terrain tiles, extra tiles), it's the owner who pays the cost out of pocket, not the private.

3. Privates with a city convert into shares instead of being bought out and closed
In 1830 a private is bought by a public company for cash and permanently removed from the game. In 1858, if a private's home hex has a city on it, the private itself transforms into the founding shares of a public company: it doesn't disappear in exchange for money, it converts directly into capital.

4. Not every private converts
Only privates whose home hex has a city can end up becoming a public company; the rest are simply income sources that eventually close down without ever turning into shares.

5. Private auctions continue throughout the game, not just at the start
In 1830 the six privates are auctioned once, at the very start of the game. In 1858 privates keep coming up for auction during stock rounds throughout the whole game, and both founding a new company and putting a private up for auction use up a player's single buy action for that turn.

6. Dual track gauge
Something that doesn't exist in 1830, with its single track gauge: 1858 has broad gauge (available from the start), metre/narrow gauge (from phase 3), and dual gauge (from phase 5). No route can ever mix a broad-gauge stretch with a metre-gauge one.

7. Two separate train families, one per gauge
In 1830 every company competes for the same trains off a single ladder. In 1858 there are dedicated trains for each gauge — 2H/4H/6H for broad gauge and 2M through 6M for metre gauge — that develop independently of each other.

8. Companies start with 5 shares and later convert to 10
In 1830 every public company always has 10 shares of 10% each. In 1858 public companies start out with only 5 shares and automatically convert into 10-share companies once the first 5E train or the first 4M train is bought.

9. Trains get "wounded" before fully rusting
In 1830 a train type rusts in one step and is removed the moment the next type is bought. In 1858 obsolescence happens in two stages: a train is first "wounded," earning only half its normal revenue, and only later is it fully retired.

10. Game end only from the bank, plus a Final Exchange Round
In 1830 the game can end either from the bank running dry or from the last train of the last type being bought. In 1858 the only trigger is the bank running dry; right before the game stops, there's a dedicated Final Exchange Round in which the usual 60% per-company ownership limit can be exceeded — something that never happens in 1830.

1858 — Schematic summary (vs 1830)

SETTING

PRIVATE COMPANIES

PUBLIC COMPANIES

TRACK GAUGE

TRAINS AND GAME END