Even though there are now many fast means of transportation in Minecraft, the original rail system is still worth a look today! After all, it’s in the name – minecarts and rails simply belong to Minecraft. And a lot has changed over time; new blocks have been added, and interesting Redstone mechanisms have been discovered. If you prefer to play Minecraft the classic way, a train station or an underground railway is simply a must. So today, let’s take a closer look at how the different rails and minecarts interact and what things you can build with them.
Overview of all Minecarts in Minecraft
Minecarts are the first real means of transport that were introduced in Minecraft. They strongly lean on the original idea of Minecraft, which is to search for resources in caves and then carry them outside using large iron boxes. Today, there are even seven different minecarts, of which you can use five in normal gameplay. While some are less practical, others can significantly enhance your gameplay!
Standard Minecart: A minecart consisting of five iron ingots is one of the best means of transport in Minecraft, as long as you have a good rail system. It can be moved by pressing forward to gain momentum. Not only you but also other animals and monsters can ride in minecarts! They are particularly useful if you want to transport villagers. You can exit with crouching or by destroying the minecart.
Chest Minecart: Minecarts with a chest are directly found in the game, specifically in mineshafts. You can use them to expand your inventory and transport blocks over long distances. The chest minecart can be both filled and emptied with a hopper, which is also practical. You can use the minecart to transport blocks like cobblestone or dirt and sort them automatically.
Furnace Minecart: A minecart with an integrated furnace may look odd at first, but it can be quite useful. Once coal or charcoal is burned, the furnace minecart functions like a locomotive. It can move itself and also push other minecarts in front of it. This allows you to transport a longer convoy of minecarts without your help.
Hopper Minecart: For technical players, the hopper minecart is possibly the most interesting variation. We have used it in some automatic farms since it can pull items through a full block, unlike a regular hopper. They are also well-suited for large warehouses and automatic sorting systems.
TNT Minecart: If this minecart travels over an activated rail or is otherwise triggered by vibrations or external triggers, it explodes after four seconds. The explosion is slightly larger than a normal TNT, but it also costs some iron.
Spawner Minecart: This minecart can only be obtained via command and functions practically like a moving spawner. It is only useful in special cases, such as for adventure maps.
Command Block Minecart: Command blocks are a very complicated matter and are only useful for technically savvy Minecraft players. They are also available in a minecart to time certain inputs. However, these applications are very specific and not relevant for Survival.
Types of Rails in Minecraft and Their Applications
Without the right rails, even the best minecart won’t be of much use. There are four different types you can work with. However, these require quite a few resources, including gold and iron. You can also find rails in abandoned mineshafts, so always take some with you!
Rail: Rails can be laid normally and, unlike the following three variations, can also turn corners or ascend blocks. They are the basic building block of any rail system. You can now also lay rails underwater.
Powered Rail: In addition to regular rails, you will need a lot of powered rails, as these give you a boost. However, they cost Redstone and gold and cannot be found in the world. They are activated by a Redstone signal and push a minecart. An unactivated powered rail serves as a stopper.
Detector Rail: You can think of this rail as a kind of pressure plate (which is also used in the recipe). When a minecart travels over it, the detector rail is briefly activated. This can be used in combination with the powered rails mentioned earlier and saves you Redstone torches or Redstone blocks. Blocks or mechanisms connected with Redstone dust to the rail can also be activated.
Activator Rail: This type of rail is not necessarily practical but can eject you from the minecart so you don’t have to exit yourself. Additionally, it can open and close a hopper minecart and activate a TNT minecart.
Construction Ideas for an Effective Rail System in Minecraft
Finally, let’s look at how you can implement these systems in a monorail style. For this, we need a start and end, and of course, the rails in between.
The starter and stopper can be used universally. We took inspiration from the design by YouTuber Pixlriffs. At the very end, we use a cactus on sand with a slab above it. This breaks down the minecart. Under the rails, there is a hopper leading into a dispenser. In front of the dispenser, place a powered rail, then an activator rail, followed by a regular rail, and finally a detector rail. Between the detector rail and the activator rail, we add a delay so that it ejects us from the minecart in time. With two buttons next to the dispenser and the powered rail, you can set off.
To ensure you don’t lose momentum over long distances, you should lay powered rails at regular intervals. The best setup is a powered rail followed by four regular rails. You can also insert a detector rail to automatically activate the rails. This keeps your speed constant. If you don’t have enough gold, you can lay longer stretches of regular rails with occasional powered rails in between.
Conclusion
As fun as an Elytra is, a classic rail system is also a wonderful means of transport in Minecraft. Nowadays, there are many great minecarts and rails with which you can automate some things. If you rent your own Minecraft server with us, you can build a fantastic underground rail system with your friends! This way, you can quickly cover long distances and build some amazing sights along the way.
