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The Railway Alehouse – Doncaster
I was lucky enough to be invited along to the VIP soft opening of The Railway Alehouse in Doncaster, and it was brilliant to finally see the finished pub after following some of the refurbishment work along the way.
The pub is just a short walk from Doncaster station and has been brought back to life by Russ and Luke, the team behind The Draughtsman Alehouse. The Railway has plenty of history of its own too, with old plans on display showing the Railway Hotel back in 1931.
What I really liked is that they haven’t tried to completely reinvent the building. Instead, they’ve worked with what was already there and brought some of the old character back out.
One of the best examples is the patterned tiled floor, which is original to the pub and was uncovered during the work. The bar has also been stripped back to reveal the timber underneath, giving it a much warmer look than before. Then there’s one of my favourite little details — a genuine piece of railway rail running around the bottom of the bar. It’s a brilliant touch and fits the name perfectly without making the railway theme feel overdone.
Inside, the pub is split into different areas, each with its own character. There are warm green walls, dark ceiling beams, parquet flooring in parts, fireplaces, leather chairs, bench seating and plenty of solid wooden tables. Old luggage, railway pictures, historic plans and other small railway touches are dotted around the rooms, giving you plenty to notice without the place feeling cluttered.
It feels traditional and comfortable, but still fresh enough to feel like a new chapter for the building.
The bar itself is a real focal point. Along with the four handpulls, there’s a large range of keg beers behind the bar, while a big beer board next to the bar makes it easy to see exactly what’s available. Prices are shown for pints, halves and thirds, which is always handy when there’s plenty you want to try.
For the soft opening there was a really varied beer range, with four cask ales alongside plenty of keg choices covering everything from traditional styles to modern craft, lager, porter and stronger beers. The fridges were also well stocked with bottles and cans, including British craft and Belgian and continental choices.
It’s clear that beer is going to be a big part of what The Railway Alehouse is about, but what I liked most is that it doesn’t feel like they’ve simply tried to create a bigger version of The Draughtsman.
The Draughtsman has its own very distinctive setting inside the station, while The Railway Alehouse feels much more like a proper traditional pub you could settle into for a few hours. There’s more room to spread out, different areas to sit in, and each part of the pub has its own feel.
Having seen some of the before photos, the transformation is even more impressive. The bar was stripped back, the original tiled floor was uncovered and restored, and plenty of care has clearly gone into keeping features that help tell the story of the building.
The railway theme works particularly well because it actually belongs here. This isn’t just a pub that happens to have a railway name. It sits right by the station, has a long history as the Railway Hotel, displays old plans of the building, and now even has a real section of rail worked into the bar.
It was also great to get such a warm welcome from Russ, Luke and the team. You could tell how much work had gone into getting the place ready, and there was a real sense of excitement around seeing the pub finally open its doors.
The Railway Alehouse feels like a pub that has managed to keep hold of the past while still giving the building something new.
A cracking addition to Doncaster, a great new place for real ale and craft beer, and somewhere I’ll definitely be heading back to.
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