The way your world looks can vary dramatically depending on which Minecraft version you’re playing and which mods you have installed. However, one thing that will always be true for every Minecraft map is the need for rails to create a railway network.

Railway tracks can be crafted in different ways and used to transport mobs and players alike, but there’s even more they can do! If you’ve ever played with trains in Minecraft, you may know some of these tricks already.

You can change the direction a minecart is moving by right-clicking on a rail, causing it to roll in the opposite direction. By placing powered rails underneath regular tracks, you can power carts along your railway network with almost no effort at all! Another way to make moving around even easier is with the use of redstone.

What you will need to craft a railroad track in Minecraft:

One stick and one wood plank for each block of track.

Redstone dust:  four per block of track (eight if you want to power it)

Rail: three per block of track (six if you want to power it)

How to craft a railroad track in Minecraft

Firstly, place your first piece of wood along the ground. Then, with your second piece of wood, create a cross shape. Make sure that you’ve left space to attach redstone and rails! Railway tracks can be made in different colors (e.g., gold) or even with powered rails that give minecarts a boost.

You can attach carts to other carts by giving one an empty chest and pointing it to the second cart. However, the first cart has to be facing away from the other cart for this trick to work!

A common mistake among people who play Minecraft is using torches as redstone… But they don’t work. Redstone dust is required for this, and it can be very expensive! For most railway networks, you’ll need a lot of redstone dust. To make sure you have enough for your entire network, scatter some on the floor and mark where you want to place redstone lamps or repeaters. Then put more down to link to those spots.

Another way to power your railway network is with redstone lamps. These can be placed directly on top of each other, so you can create a solid line of powered rails to transport carts along very quickly! However, the downside of these lights is that they use up a lot of energy and give off light! This means that you’ll have to put down a lot of torches to compensate.

You can use rails as a bridge over small holes, but this is very wasteful

  • Firstly, it takes up four blocks worth of space (and three redstone pieces).
  • Secondly, there are better ways using stairs and pressure plates. If the hole is too long or too deep, you could create a spiral staircase out of rails. Another way to get over it is with the use of pressure plates (but make sure that they’re not trapped).

Using blocks in place of dirt or sand has many advantages when creating railway tracks

  • Firstly, they look better;
  • secondly, they don’t slow down carts; and
  • thirdly, they’re easier to replace.

If you want a cart to go down a side track, put redstone dust in front of the cart’s current path and then use another piece of dust to lead the cart off. This is very useful for creating complicated railways with multiple routes! If something goes wrong, it’s much easier to fix one piece of redstone than a whole chunk of track.

There are many more ways to use and improve your railway network in Minecraft, but these tricks might be all you need!

To summarize, railroads in Minecraft are useful for many things. They can be used to transport items and mobs quickly, but they can also do more! For example, they can power carts along your network with redstone or make moving around easier with chests.