Can I power multiple power rail tracks with a single switch without visible redstone?

[Joseph Taylor]

I have a loop going around a large building with a courtyard in the middle. I put down all powered rails except for the turns so that hopefully I will be able to load villagers with bad trades into carts, go to the end of the track and then hit a switch to start them moving towards the grinder. Unfortunately I cant figure out how to power the tracks from a single switch unless I have a bunch of redstone and repeaters ABOVE ground. Anybody know of anything I can do to have everything hidden?

 

[Obi09]

any switch on the block beside or below a rail powers the block on which the rails is  and therefore the rail.

any powered rails powers up to 5 (or7?) rails it is connected to, in both directions.

so yes, one cobblestone and one stick is all you need to power 15 rails.

to be exact, i have never used any redstone blocks for redstone machines. there is always a cheaper way. (i usually use red terracotta or concrete to distinguish the circuit from its surrounding)

 

[Vortakor]

The one outstanding feature about redstone blocks are their movability. Apart from that, there is almost always a cheaper power source.