Board game published by Hartland Trefoil in the UK based on the railway boom of the 19th century. Players competed to make a fortune by building and operating railways across England and Wales (an expansion kit later added Scotland to the equation) and dealing in railway shares. The actual railway construction mecanics used a limited supply of hexagonal tiles placed on the map between companies' historical starting points with different sets showing increasingly complex layouts used as the game went on; trains were then run between towns on routes selected to maximise profits.
The game system was licensed to Avalon Hill, who produced an variant on a map of the United States under the name of 1830. It seems clear that the game influenced later computer games on the same subject, particularly Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon and its descendants.
Anyone out there who can get me a copy of the rules, which my set is missing, will be rewarded at least by seeing this writeup made more substantial ...