Railways Untold supports multiple station designs that can be placed at villages and at the starting track position. Stations are defined via data packs, allowing you to add custom station schematics, control which biomes they appear in, and set relative rarity between designs.

The mod loads station definitions from data packs at startup and on /reload. When a station needs to be placed (at a village or at the starting position), the mod:

1. Collects all loaded station definitions
2. Filters by the biome at the placement position (whitelist/blacklist)
3. Filters by appearance limits — excludes stations that have reached their max_appearances
4. Selects one station using weighted random selection
5. Validates the schematic and places it with proper track alignment

If no data pack stations match the biome, the built-in default station is used as a fallback.

These settings remain in config/railways-untold/config.toml:

Station placement at villages is controlled by the structure targeting system. See the Biome Settings documentation for structure_target_tags.

Place your station definition JSON files at:

data/<namespace>/railwaysuntold/stations/<name>.json

Place the corresponding .nbt schematic files at:

data/<namespace>/structure/<path>.nbt

For example, in a data pack called my_stations:

my_stations/
  pack.mcmeta
  data/
    my_stations/
      railwaysuntold/
        stations/
          desert_station.json
          grand_station.json
      structure/
        stations/
          desert_station.nbt
          grand_station.nbt

{
  "schematic": "my_stations:stations/desert_station",
  "weight": 10,
  "foundation_block": "minecraft:cut_sandstone",
  "biome_whitelist": ["minecraft:desert"],
  "biome_blacklist": [],
  "loot": {
    "default": "my_stations:stations/station_supplies"
  }
}

Station schematics must meet the same validation requirements as event schematics:

• Edge-to-edge track: The schematic must contain Create track blocks on exactly two opposite edges (entry and exit)
• Flat track: All track blocks must be at the same Y level within the schematic
• Straight alignment: Track must run in a straight line from one edge to the opposite edge

If your schematic includes Create station blocks (the block that creates a named stop on the railway network), the mod will automatically detect and configure them. Station blocks are oriented to face the track and assigned a shared station name.

If no Create station blocks are found in the schematic, the mod will automatically place them adjacent to the track on both sides of the station.

1. Build your station in-game with Create tracks running through it edge-to-edge
2. Optionally include Create station blocks at the track positions
3. Use a schematic tool (like Create's Schematic and Quill) to save the structure as a .nbt file
4. Place the .nbt file in your data pack's structure/ directory

The mod ships with a built-in default station definition:

data/railwaysuntold/railwaysuntold/stations/default_station.json

{
  "schematic": "railwaysuntold:station",
  "weight": 10,
  "biome_whitelist": [],
  "biome_blacklist": []
}

This uses the bundled station.nbt schematic. You can override it by creating a file at the same path in your data pack, or add additional station designs alongside it.

A sandstone station that only appears in deserts:

data/my_stations/railwaysuntold/stations/desert_station.json

{
  "schematic": "my_stations:stations/desert_station",
  "weight": 10,
  "foundation_block": "minecraft:cut_sandstone",
  "biome_whitelist": ["minecraft:desert"],
  "biome_blacklist": []
}

A large, ornate station that can appear anywhere but is rare:

data/my_stations/railwaysuntold/stations/grand_station.json

{
  "schematic": "my_stations:stations/grand_station",
  "weight": 3,
  "biome_whitelist": [],
  "biome_blacklist": ["#minecraft:is_ocean", "#minecraft:is_nether"]
}

A grand station that can only appear once in the entire world:

data/my_stations/railwaysuntold/stations/grand_central.json

{
  "schematic": "my_stations:stations/grand_central",
  "weight": 5,
  "max_appearances": 1,
  "biome_whitelist": [],
  "biome_blacklist": ["#minecraft:is_ocean"]
}

You can create multiple station designs for different biomes. The mod selects from whichever designs match the current biome:

stations/
  plains_station.json    -> biome_whitelist: ["minecraft:plains", "minecraft:sunflower_plains"]
  forest_station.json    -> biome_whitelist: ["#minecraft:is_forest"]
  mountain_station.json  -> biome_whitelist: ["#minecraft:is_mountain"]
  default_station.json   -> biome_whitelist: [] (catches everything else)

When placing at a forest village, only forest_station.json and default_station.json would be eligible, and one is chosen by weight.

When a track reaches a targeted village, the mod:

1. Evaluates runway positions around the village edge
2. Selects a station design based on the village center's biome
3. Places the station at the best runway position with proper alignment

The same station design is used for all evaluation and placement within a single village.

When stationAtStart is enabled, the starting station is selected randomly from all definitions that match the spawn position's biome.

You can assign loot tables to containers (chests, barrels, etc.) in station schematics. The loot system works identically to event loot tables — see the Events documentation for full details on the loot configuration format, container tagging, and resolution order.

{
  "schematic": "my_stations:stations/trading_post",
  "weight": 10,
  "loot": {
    "by_tag": {
      "merchant_goods": "my_stations:loot/merchant_inventory",
      "storage": "my_stations:loot/station_storage"
    },
    "default": "my_stations:loot/basic_supplies"
  }
}

Station definitions are loaded as part of Minecraft's data pack system. Changes take effect:

• When starting/loading a world
• After running the /reload command

No server restart is required.