
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,375
- BGG rating
- 7.0
Prussian Rails
- 3–5 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 2.9/5
- 2008

Rules assistance for Chicago Express: Nickel Plate Road Expansion
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Chicago Express: Nickel Plate Road Expansion is an expansion for Wabash Cannonball released in 2011 for 2–6 players, 60 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by John Bohrer and its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, Network and Route Building, and Stock Holding.
The Nickel Plate Road expands Harry Wu's base Wabash Cannonball game with the addition of the famous New York, Chicago & Saint Louis Railroad, aka Nickel Plate Road. The Nickel Plate Road expansion is one of the two games and seven expansions from Winsome Games to be released at Essen 2011. This game expansion requires the original Wabash Cannonball / Chicago Express game and can be played by 2-6 players. Nickel Plate Road is only playable only with the base game. Components • 12 Locomotives • 1 counter piece • 1 Share The rules of the base game are unchanged except as outlined below. Changes during game set-up The Nickel Plate Road share, 12 locomotives and the counter piece is placed next to the game board. Changes during sequence of play At the beginning of every Round, if the Wabash Railroad has already been started, now is the time to start the Nickel Plate Road. Starting the Nickel Plate Road (NPR) The single share of the Nickel Plate Road is auctioned off to the highest bidder. The first bidder is the current Player. The highest bidder (the owner) pays all the bid money into the bank. The Nickel Plate does not pay to Build Track. The owner places the first locomotive in Chicago, the home of the Nickel Plate Road. No Chicago Dividend is paid! The owner now places all remaining locomotives on the map, one at a time, with each purple locomotive always adjacent to an existing purple locomotive. The Nickel Plate Road locomotives may not be placed in the Detroit hex or the Pittsburgh hex or any Mountain hex or any Forest hex. The owner calculates the railroad income and places the purple counter piece on the appropriate place on the Income Track. The Nickel Plate Road‘s stock and locomotives do not apply to the end of game conditions. All other rules remain the same. Expands: Wabash Cannonball / Chicago Express
Chicago Express: Nickel Plate Road Expansion supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Chicago Express: Nickel Plate Road Expansion is 60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Chicago Express: Nickel Plate Road Expansion for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Chicago Express: Nickel Plate Road Expansion has a complexity rating of 2.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Chicago Express: Nickel Plate Road Expansion belongs to these categories: Economic, Trains, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, Network and Route Building, and Stock Holding. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Chicago Express: Nickel Plate Road Expansion are: John Bohrer. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Chicago Express: Nickel Plate Road Expansion as an expansion for Wabash Cannonball. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Wabash Cannonball to use it. Check that your edition of Wabash Cannonball is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.