Kamloops city council has opted to pay its $90,000 grant to the Kamloops Heritage Railway ahead of schedule to allow the society to complete further repairs and make progress toward resuming operations.

The funds were initially meant to be reserved until the 2141 steam locomotive was operational again, but at the final meeting of the previous council, KHR and city staff had asked if council could release the funds early.

Of its $180,000 grant for 2026, KHR received the first 25 percent at the beginning of the year and will receive the remaining 25 percent upon delivery of its annual report.

The locomotive, other rail cars, and the property at the Pioneer Park compound is all city-owned. It was built in 1912 and was in service for 46 years across Canada. It ended up in Riverside Park after being purchased by Kamloops mayor Jack Fitzwater for $2,000 in 1961. The locomotive sat there until the mid-90s, when it was restored and set back on the tracks. It was taken out of service again in 2020.

KHR executive director Terri Axani said there has been “an incredible amount of progress” over the past year in getting the 2141 back on the tracks.

That work included readying the locomotive’s boiler for an inspection by Technical Safety BC, which was completed in July, and firing the firebox on Sept. 30, which marked the fist time that had been done in almost seven years, Axani said.

“Steady, skilled work is turning a long-term vision into visible success,” she said.

But Axani said that progress doesn’t mean an immediate return to service. She said a “small but mighty team” is behind the ongoing work and more needs to be done before 2141 is back in service, including work on track access, programming and visitor experiences.

Max Simons, chief mechanical and safety engineer for the KHR, is a member of the small but mighty team getting 2141 back in service.

He moved to Kamloops in 2019 and got further involved with the society after the board reformed in 2024.

“The biggest problem that we have is finding people who know what they’re doing,” he said.

Simons said when 2141 was first refurbished, there was a team of “dozens” that came together to get it out of the park, but this time around, there are few available to help.

“They had done the maintenance, the servicing, all of that stuff,” Simons said.

“And unfortunately, the vast majority of them have since passed away. The knowledge is disappearing.”