| Canadian National 2141 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 No. 2141 awaiting to depart with an excursion train, July 11, 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| References: [1] [2] [3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian National 2141 is a M-3-d class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive, built in 1912 by the Canadian Locomotive Company (CLC), in Kingston, Ontario for the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR), it is preserved and operated by the Kamloops Heritage Railway (KHRX).
No. 2141 was built in April 1912 by the Canadian Locomotive Company (CLC), in Kingston, Ontario for the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR), which later merged into the Canadian National Railway (CN). [1] [2] [3] [4] The locomotive spent many years working on both drag freights and passenger trains throughout Ontario, Montreal and British Columbia for forty-six years. [1] [2] [3] [5] [4] It was originally built as a coal burner, but was later converted to burn oil in 1948. [1] [2] [4]
It was retired from revenue service on July 4, 1958 after forty-six years of service; the locomotive was later stored outside of the Point Ellice Roundhouse for three years awaiting to be scrapped. [1] [3] On October 29, 1961, the engine was purchased and sold to the City of Kamloops for $2,000 who had it preserved for static display at Riverside Park, it remained on display at the park for the next thirty-three years. [1] [3] [5] [4]
In 1993, the City of Kamloops was approached by a private enterprise group and was asked about a quoting of the engine with plans to restore and operate it for tourist operations in Alberta. [1] [3] [2] In February 1994, No. 2141 was removed from display by the newly formed 2141 Steam Locomotive Restoration Society, it was moved into a warehouse located in River Street in Kamloops were restoration work on No. 2141 officially began. [1] [2] [3] [5] [4]
No. 2141's restoration was completed on January 15, 2002 and it moved under its own power for the first time in forty-four years. [1] [2] [3] [5] On June 26, 2002, No. 2141, proclaimed as the Spirit of Kamloops, hauled its inaugural run for the Kamloops Heritage Railway (KHRX). [1] [3]
On August 1, 2004, No. 2141 veered off the KHRX property and ran a special steam excursion on a 36-mile round trip from Kamloops to Vinsulla, British Columbia and return. [3]
On September 27, 2004, Canadian Pacific 2816 visited the KHRX and took part in a doubleheader excursion with No. 2141. [6]
In 2013, No. 2141 was taken out of service to undergo its Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 1,472-day inspection and overhaul. [3] It returned to service again in the summer of 2015. [3] [7]
In 2020, it was taken out of service and placed in storage inside the KHRX engine house due to the railway suspending operations over the COVID-19 pandemic. [3] [8] [4] This was also due to the increased amount of freight traffic, mainly the export of American coal through Kamloops via Canadian Pacific Railway to the Canadian National Kamloops North yard via the rail bridge over the North Thompson River. [3] [8] [4] It was originally scheduled to return to service in the fall of 2021 for an excursion trip to Armstrong, but those plans fell through and it would remained in storage. [9]
In 2024, a new board of directors for the KHRX was established and began work of rebuilding No. 2141 to operation again, Canadian National has also offered to let KHRX operate the engine on 71 miles of track to the Okanagan Subdivision, between Campbell Creek and Vernon. [8] [10] On June 3, 2025, No. 2141 emerged from the shops for the first time in six years, running under compressed air. [11] [8] The KHRX has planned to have No. 2141 in service again sometime in 2026. [5] [8] [12] [13] [14]
In 2009, No. 2141 was briefly renumbered as No. 238 and re-modified with a wood-burning smokestack, ornate headlight and a large 1800's style cowcatcher to look like an old western style engine for filming of the television miniseries film Iron Road , starring Sun Li and Luke Macfarlane. [3]