Elaine’s Railway Hotel reopens with fresh meals and makeover

There’s life behind the bar again at one of Moorabool’s great old country pubs, with Elaine’s Railway Hotel reopening after an extensive renovation by new owners Sean and Carolyn.

Sitting on the Midland Highway between Ballarat and Geelong, the Railway Hotel has been part of Elaine for around 150 years. The weatherboard pub dates back to the 1870s and has long served as much more than somewhere to stop for a drink: it has traditionally been one of the places where locals meet, catch up and stay connected. 

Sean and Carolyn have given the old hotel a substantial refresh while retaining plenty of its country-pub character. The traditional front bar has been brought back to life, the dining areas refreshed, and outside there’s plenty of space to settle in at the picnic tables and enjoy the country surroundings. From the polished bar and hanging glassware to the restored weatherboard exterior, it feels renewed without losing the character that makes an old country pub worth visiting.

The Railway is open from 11am Wednesday to Sunday for lunch, with dinner available on Friday and Saturday nights. For travellers on the Midland Highway, that makes it a handy lunch stop between Ballarat and Geelong, but we suspect plenty of people will be making Elaine the destination rather than simply somewhere they happen to pass through.

And like most pubs with a century and a half behind them, this one comes with a few stories. Local folklore even gives the Railway its own resident ghost, “Lenny”, said to have been haunting the hotel for generations. 

It’s great to see the doors opening again on a piece of Elaine history, and another country pub returning to the Moorabool food and drink map.