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Detector Rail
TransportationCraftable

Detector Rail

A pressure-plate rail that emits a redstone signal while a minecart is on top of it. Used to detect and trigger automated rail systems.

Stack Size

64

Durability

N/A

Category

Transportation

Version Added

1.5

Item ID

detector_rail

Detector Rail at a glance

Crafting gives you Detector Rail, a transportation item filed under Transportation. Stack Detector Rail 64 high: 576 across a hotbar, 1728 in a shulker box, and 3456 in a double chest.

Detector Rail is transport: it exists to move you across the world faster than walking does. The game rates Detector Rail at 0.7 hardness. It takes the same 0.7 from an explosion. A pickaxe is the right tool for Detector Rail, and any tier of it collects the block. Generated chests only ever hold Detector Rail in one place: abandoned mineshaft chests (about 23%, 1 to 4 at a time). It sits between Dark Oak Boat with Chest and Jungle Boat in Transportation, number 9 of 25 there.

Crafting recipe

Crafting
Iron IngotIron Ingot
Iron IngotIron Ingot
Iron IngotIron Ingot
Stone Pressure PlateStone Pressure Plate
Iron IngotIron Ingot
Iron IngotIron Ingot
Redstone DustRedstone Dust
Iron IngotIron Ingot
Detector RailDetector Rail6

How to obtain

  • Crafting

Frequently asked questions about Detector Rail

  1. Iron Ingot, Stone Pressure Plate, Redstone Dust going into Detector Rail, the recipe this answer describes

    How do you get Detector Rail in Minecraft?

    Detector Rail is crafted from Iron Ingot, Stone Pressure Plate, and Redstone Dust at a Crafting Table, and each craft returns 6.

  2. 64 Detector Rail drawn together, the full slot the answer counts

    How many Detector Rail can you stack?

    64 Detector Rail fill one slot, and filling it costs 66 Iron Ingot, 11 Stone Pressure Plate, and 11 Redstone Dust, since each one returns 6: 11 crafts. A shulker box of Detector Rail comes to 1,728, over 27 slots.

  3. A chest beside Detector Rail, the loot this answer lists

    Where do you find Detector Rail in chests?

    Detector Rail is chest loot in one place and one only: abandoned mineshaft chests (about 23%, 1 to 4 at a time). No other generated chest lists it, so that single structure is the whole search, and every other chest in the game will disappoint you.

  4. Detector Rail coming forward out of the past, in the game since 1.5

    When was Detector Rail added to Minecraft?

    Detector Rail was added in version 1.5.

  5. Detector Rail on its own, since nothing in the game is crafted from it

    What is Detector Rail used for?

    A pressure-plate rail that emits a redstone signal while a minecart is on top of it. Used to detect and trigger automated rail systems.

  6. Detector Rail as a block, next to the pickaxe its 0.7 hardness asks for

    How long does Detector Rail take to break?

    Mining Detector Rail works against 0.7; explosions on it work against 0.7. Most blocks share the pattern on Detector Rail, and it is not one of the exceptions. A pickaxe is the right tool for Detector Rail, and any tier of it collects the block. Java 26.2 is the release Detector Rail was read from, figure by figure on it.

Building with it

Six iron, a stone pressure plate and a redstone dust give a detector rail, and it emits a signal while a cart is on top of it. That is how a station knows a cart has arrived, and how a line switches its own powered rails on ahead.

In practice

A detector rail powers itself and the block under it while a cart sits on it, which is what lets a station know a cart arrived. Wired forward, it can also switch on the powered rails ahead of the cart, so a line only draws power where a cart actually is.