The first and important thing to note is that a single Rail can go both ways back and forth. Now that you know of the different type of Rails and what they may be used for, it’s time to learn how Rails can be placed down in the world. You do not need to really worry about the speed of your Hopper Minecart too much as it dispenses and collects Items much faster than a regular Hopper: 20 items per second. It cannot dispense the Items directly into a Chest, but if this type of Minecart passes over another Hopper the Items will be moved.

The Hopper inside the Minecart will pick up any dropped Item from a Hopper or Chest it passed under, or any Item that can be found on top of the Tracks. Minecarts with Hoppers allow you to to transport Items inside them without manually placing and removing the Items. It is much easier than launching TNT by hand and having to run away before the blast. I’ve personally used them for strip mining. TNT Minecarts can be used to safely detonate TNT inside a cave. They can be used to push a whole line of other Minecarts in a direction you may need them to go, as long as they have fuel they can push multiple Minecarts along the tracks and even up inclines, without necessarily needing Powered Rails to do so. Feeding any kind of fuel to a Minecart with a Furnace will make it move forward on its own in the direction where you had clicked. Minecarts with Furnaces are Minecarts that can be used like a train engine. Putting your things in the Chest and sending the Minecart on its way leaves your hands free to collect more. Minecarts with Chests are used to transport Loot and anything you find inside the caves.

Players and Entities can enter the Minecart and ride it. Regular Minecarts are somewhat similar to Boats, except they can only run on Rails. There are multiple different types of Minecarts and each of them has a different function. Minecarts are just as versatile as the Rails. To disable one the Rail has to be active, while an inactive Activator Rail will enable to Hopper again. Hopper Minecarts depend on Activator Rails to enable and disable them as they go along the tracks. They can eject Mobs from Minecarts, activate TNT Minecarts, activate Command Blocks, and disable or enable Hopper Minecarts. Activator RailsĪctivator Rails can be used as a Redstone component and they interact with Minecarts that pass over them if there is a Redstone Pulse. The strength of the Pulse will depend on how full this Minecart is. If you place a Redstone Comparator next to the Detector Rail, the Comparator will output a Redstone Pulse if a Minecart with a Chest or Hopper passes over it. It can also activate Pistons, Powered Rails, Redstone Lamps, and Hoppers that are located within 1 block of it. When a Minecart passes over a Detector Rail the Rail will send out a Redstone Pulse along Redstone Dust or activate a Redstone Repeater that is facing away from the Rails. These Rails can be components in Redstone Circuitry. They are used to detect passing Minecarts or how full or empty a Minecart passing over them is. Detector Railsĭetector Rails are Rails that are used to detect things, just as the name suggests. It also allows for Minecarts to travel on their own, without you necessarily steering them forward. These are very handy when you have a tall incline you want your Minecart to climb, but you do not have the momentum to keep the Minecart going. Powered Rails are Rails that are able to push the Minecart along them given that they have a Redstone Current powering them. Without them Minecarts cannot move or function properly. These Rails simply allow the Carts to move along them, serving as a “road” for all Minecarts. These can be mined with any tool and they will occasionally hold a Minecart with a Chest inside it which contains loot. Normal Rails can be found naturally generated in the world, usually in Mineshafts inside caves.

Their different mechanics don’t just allow you to build a very efficient and good working Railway systems, but you can also use them as Redstone Components or even decoration completely on their own. Each Rail has its own mechanics and different usages. Before we begin crafting and using Rails, we need to know that there are different types of Rails.

Minecraft rails guide