I'm going through my rail network, replacing boosters with powered rails. However I'm finding that unlike boosters, which 'break' the laws of minecraft physics (by giving the cart much more momentum than its speed should allow), powered rails can't propel carts over very long distances, and it seems that even making a very long boost doesn't help this.
How should I cluster my powered rails for maximum efficiency? How many should I put at a time, both on flat, and inclined stretches?
Update
I've un-answered this question and added a bounty to reflect the changes in 1.6.
23 Answers
For inclines in 1.6 (tested), one powered rail at the bottom of a slope will boost a cart with a player in it up 6 blocks before needing another boost.
EDIT: TaviRider has made another great video showing all the powered rail things in 1.6.
8To boost the cart speed from zero to maximum, you need 4 powered rails in sequence.
To maintain maximum speed you need one powered rail each 26 blocks (25 blocks of rail, 1 block of powered rail).
To maintain maximum speed on slopes, you need to power each second block on the slope.
2All sorts of good related information:
