NATURALLY, the name Railway Hotel suggests the presence of trains.
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Railway Hotel owner Greg Smith was in awe and lost for words on Tuesday when, after years of planning and dreaming, a retired rail carriage arrived at his business.
“It’s excellent – virtually the culmination of two years’ work,” he said.
The 26-tonne freight mail van has been decommissioned for two decades, but now it will be stationed at the hotel.
“This will be the final resting place and we’re going to turn it into a bar,” Mr Smith said.
Mr Smith plans on giving the carriage a fresh coat of paint, as well as putting a story of its history on its exterior.
He was beaming when the carriage was transported down Market Lane this week, but Mr Smith said it took a lot of effort to get it to the property.
“Wow – I can’t believe it’s finally happening,” he said.
“A lot of heartache went into this I am telling you.
“It’s just going to be awesome – it’s just going to make this hotel.
“It’s a bit of a history that’s being saved.
“Instead of going to the scrapheap it’s coming to a whole new home.”
He first mentioned the idea of turning a decommissioned carriage into a bar a couple years ago, but it was a recent call out of the blue that got the wheels turning.
Mr Smith received a message saying there was an available carriage sitting right outside his hotel.
He said the set-up is going to be primarily food and entertainment.
Mr Smith said they have already started clean up on the carriage, and the team has found “treasures” in the process, like old Muswellbrook station signs.
