The Kamloops Heritage Railway Steam Locomotive 2141 is pictured in this undated photograph.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kamloops Heritage Railway.

Big plans are underway for the iconic Spirit of Kamloops steam locomotive #2141 that has been sitting idle since 2020 after decades of entertaining locals and visitors with numerous rail tours. 

A new board of directors and staff at the Kamloops Heritage Railway Society are planning to create a world class hospitality ride from Kamloops to Vernon with stops at towns along the way.

“The train is coming back and my son is over the moon,” said Kamloops resident Brandie Bugg. “The sound of the train whistle makes his day.”

The steam locomotive and heritage fleet needs to be reactivated and track time secured, but the society plans to have the tour running by 2026.

The #2141 steam locomotive was built in 1912 and was purchased from the Canadian National Railway by the City of Kamloops in 1961 for $2,000, according to the society’s website.

It was moved from Vancouver Island and presented to then Kamloops Mayor Jack Fitzwater who worked to secure it to commemorate the railway’s role in the development of Kamloops. The locomotive was on display at Riverside Park until 1994.

In 1993, the City was approached by private investors to restore it to pull a tourist train in Alberta, sparking discussions between the City and interested members of the public, who consequently decided to restore the locomotive after inspections of the boiler showed it was in good operating condition.

The following year, the #2141 Steam Locomotive Restoration Society formed and the locomotive was lifted to a temporary location on River Street.

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It took eight years to restore the locomotive and open an operating rail-tour business.

The society changed its name to Kamloops Heritage Railway Society and worked with CN Rail to create a steam-powered passenger train route within the city. A building at Pioneer Park was built to house and maintain the #2141.

In 2002, an open-air car was under construction and a passenger coach restored, and shortly after that, the first passengers road on the Spirit of Kamloops rail tour. The trips were 1.5 hours in length and included a Bill Miner Train Robbery reenactment.

A second open-air car was built and a café lounge car was purchased before the Christmas Lights Railtour was launched. Lit up with thousands of lights, the train went through town to St. Joseph’s Church to pick up Santa.

In 2004, the society negotiated with CN Rail to operate on a mainline and, with an extra Rocky Mountaineer coach attached, began covering a 36-mile round trip from Kamloops to Vinsulla.

Between 2005 and 2008, more coaches were added, and with approval from the Kelowna Pacific Railway, the train started chugging from Kamloops to Armstrong on a 115-mile round trip called the Armstrong Explorer.

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In 2009, the #2141 and open-air cars were used in a full-length movie called Iron Road, a historical drama about building the railroad through the Canadian Rockies in the 1880s.

The locomotive stopped operating from 2013 to 2014 to complete a government mandated safety rebuild, where the locomotive’s boiler was inspected and upgrades like new boiler tubes and firebox bricks, before returning to the tracks the following year.

In 2020, the #2141 was parked due to the COVID pandemic and a coal shipping agreement with CP and CN Rail that made the track it used too congested to use, but in the meantime, the society created a heritage park and museum for visitors

Thanks to the work of a new board of directors and collaboration with CN Rail, the train is expected to be chugging along the tracks once again by 2026, both within downtown Kamloops and on CN Rail’s Okanagan Subdivision between Kamloops and Vernon.

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Bugg is planning to take her son on the new tour when it opens.

“We went on the steam train in Summerland, it was such a fun experience and he loves the train museum in Revelstoke, we try to take my son to all things train related, we're really excited." 

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