As you play Minecraft you will find that walking is not an effective way to cover long distances. Sprinting is a better choice, but it consumes the hunger bar. Consequently, the obvious solution is to build a railway. It is usually quite easy to create a rail system that allows you to move quickly between two distant points in the world.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Building the Components
Step 1. Decide how long the railroad should be
There are no limits, but you need to estimate how many blocks you have to go through, so you know how many rails to create.
Try walking from point A to point B of your future railroad. This will help you plan your route and discover obstacles along the way
Step 2. Learn what the components of a railway are
There are four main items you will need to use:
- Mining cart: the "train" of your railway. You will use it to move from point A to point B.
- Train tracks: simple tracks on which the mine cart will travel.
- Powered rails: Redstone activated rails that accelerate the mine cart (or keep it moving). Powered rails that are not activated by the redstone cause the carriage to slow down (or stop).
- Redstone torches: the power source for each section of 14 powered rails. It is not necessary for normal tracks.
Step 3. Gather the necessary resources
To create a railway you will need the following materials:
- Iron ingots: You need 6 iron ingots to make 16 rails. Another 5 are needed to build the cart. You can get them by melting raw iron in the furnace.
- Sticks: you need a stick to make 16 rails. You also need one for each lever and each redstone torch. You can make 4 sticks by placing two wooden planks (one on top of the other) in the interface of the workbench.
- Gold bars: they are used to create the fed rails. 6 ingots are required to build 6 powered rails. You can get them by melting raw gold in the furnace.
- Red Rock: Dig the redstone blocks with an iron pick (or better quality).
- Crushed stone: you need a block of crushed stone for each lever.
Step 4. Open the workbench
Point the cursor on the bank and select it to open the creation interface.
Step 5. Build the mine cart
Put an iron ingot in all the boxes in the middle row, in the upper left and upper right corner of the workbench, then click on the mine cart icon and move it to the inventory.
Step 6. Build the rails
Place an iron ingot in all the boxes in the left and right columns, then place a stick in the center box of the workbench, before moving the rails to the inventory.
- With this recipe you create 16 rails, so you can multiply the materials by the number of rails you need.
- On console, scroll to the "Redstone and transport" tab, select "Rails", then press TO or X until you have created enough rails.
Step 7. Build the powered rails
You will need far fewer than normal ones. Place a gold bar in all boxes in the left and right columns of the workbench, then place a stick in the center box and one redstone unit in the center box in the lowest row. Move powered rails to inventory.
- With this recipe you create 6 powered rails, then you can multiply the materials by the number of rails you need.
- On consoles, scroll to the "Redstone and transport" tab, select "Rails", scroll to "Powered rails", then press TO or X until you have created enough rails.
Step 8. Build the redstone torches
Place the same number of sticks and units of redstone in the center space of the workbench and in the one directly below, then move the newly created torches to the inventory.
Step 9. Build the levers
Place the same number of crushed stone blocks and sticks in the center space of the workbench and the one directly below, then move the newly created levers to the inventory. You are now ready to create your railroad.
Method 2 of 2: Building the Railroad
Step 1. Equip the rails
Select it in the equipment bar at the bottom of the screen.
Step 2. Place the rails
Point the cursor at the ground, then right-click, press on the screen or press the left trigger to place the tracks.
- You can place the rails downhill and uphill.
- If you put a rail at 90 ° to the rest of the rails, they will automatically be connected with a curve.
Step 3. Add the powered rails
You don't need long sections of these tracks, which you should place at regular intervals along the railroad track to keep the trolley moving.
The rails are very useful in particular for moving the trolley uphill
Step 4. Place the redstone torches next to the powered rails
This way you will activate them permanently. If you don't, the powered rails will slow down and eventually stop the carriage.
A redstone torch powers the 14 closest connected powered rails
Step 5. Place the levers next to the rails you want to control
With a lever you can turn a powered rail on or off, a useful mechanism for creating specific stops along the rail.
Step 6. Place a solid block at the beginning and end of the railroad
This way the trolley won't fly off the tracks and won't get stuck.
If you don't, your carriage will derail at the end of the tracks and you will need to create a new one
Step 7. Place the cart at the start of the railroad
Select the cart in the equipment bar, point the cursor on the first rail, then right click, press on the screen or press the left trigger.
Step 8. Jump into the mine cart
Point the cursor at the cart, then select it to jump.
Step 9. Look ahead and press the button to advance
The default key to go forward is W on the computer, the up arrow on Minecraft PE, or the upward movement of the left analog stick on console. The trolley will immediately start traveling along the railway.
You can reverse the gear of the mine cart by looking in the opposite direction and pressing the button again to advance
Advice
- You can decorate the railway as you like. You can make it more interesting with tunnels and bridges, create real "stations" with benches and other objects or put decorations along the tracks.
- If you decide to make a realistic railway in Minecraft, mods can help you a lot. Some examples are Traincraft, Rails of War and the more realistic, Immersive Railroading.
