Canadian National 2-8-0 2141, the primary power for British Columbia’s Kamloops Heritage Railway, is expected to be fired up in the coming weeks for the first time since 2019. Earlier this week, the locomotive was operated with compressed air to test the boiler and other systems. 

Kamloops Heritage ran excursions from 2002 until 2019. Operations were suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic, and an increase in freight traffic on CN and Canadian Pacific in Kamloops prevented excursions from resuming. Since then, 2141 has been on display. However, earlier this year, KHR announced plans to resume operations sometime in 2026. 

Leader of Railway Development Jordan Popadynetz tells Raifan & Railroad that this week’s test went well and that a steam test is next. He said they hope to run the locomotive under its own power sometime this year. 

Kamloops Heritage is hoping to operate on CN’s Okanagan Subdivision, between Campbell Creek and Vernon. Passengers will be bused from the KHR station in Kamloops to the train outside of town. There’s also a short stretch of track in Kamloops the engine can run on. 

CN 2141, an M-3-d class locomotive, was built by the Canadian Locomotive Co. in 1912 for CN predecessor Canadian Northern. The locomotive was used in Western Canada, including on Vancouver Island. It was acquired by the City of Kamloops in 1961 and put on display at a city park. In the 1990s, an effort was launched to put the locomotive back in service and in 2002 it ran for the first time since 1958. 

For more information and to learn how to help the effort to put 2141 back on the main line, visit kamrail.com. —Justin Franz