Saturday, December 22nd - 4:30 pm (Sold Out)
7:00 pm (Sold Out)
Passengers should be parked and at the station 30 minutes prior to departure. Departure times are listed above. The 'Spirit of Christmas' train lasts approx one hour and ten minutes. Detraining can take between ten and fifteen minutes.
Note. Normal rail operations in the areas we operate in can delay return times once we have departed so it is recommended that passengers allow for a reasonable cushion of time for plans following your 'Spirit of Christmas' experience. Note. Dates and times are subject to change. Check this website page for updates and notices or contact the KHR Ticket Office by phone or email.
Adults: $20.00
Seniors/Students: $17.00 (60 + / Student ID Req'd)
Youth: $15.00 (12 - 18)
Child: $12.00 (3 - 11)
Infants: Free
Group: $16.00 per person (20+ adults)
Reservations required
Reserve On-Line
Charter the Train
Weather and Seating. The train will be sold up to one hundred and eighty passengers. Inside coach seating is available for all passengers and is pre-assigned when making a reservation. Outside seating is available for one hundred passengers and standing room for an additional sixty. Please dress for the weather as the passenger coaches are not heated. While the coaches have comfortable inside seating, they are not heated and you should dress as if you would be sitting outside. It is recommended that passengers consider going out to the open-air cars at some point to see a unique view of the city lights and the train lights as we move towards the junction and back.
Clothing and Footwear. Passengers should always dress for the weather when travelling onboard. The area where passengers line up is covered, the open air cars are covered, and the passenger coaches are enclosed. Temperatures are not controlled onbaord so heat and cold should be factored into your clothing and footwear decisions. We strongly recommend that passengers do not wear spike heeled shoes. The 301 open air car has plank flooring with wide enough gaps for the heel to drop into.
Lining Up on the Platform. As seating is pre-assigned, your place in the line up does not impact your location. Pre-board passengers requiring assistance are always the first to go on. The line ups will be organized and you will be directed to where you need to stand depending on which coach you are in. Travel restrictions. The Kamloops Heritage Railway has the right to refuse travel to passengers deemed to be unsafe or unruly based on their demonstrated behaviour and demeanor.
Pets. No pets are allowed onboard except for service dogs accompanying visually or mobility challenged passengers. Passengers must register their intent to bring a service dog onboard with the ticket office staff in advance of travel.
For further information on this and other railtours, please contact the Kamloops Heritage Railway Ticket Office at 250-374-2141 or email to info@kamrail.com
Reservations can be made that will guarantee you travel onboard and a pre-assigned seat. Call 250-374-2141 or email to info@kamrail.com to make your reservation. Seating is assigned on the 'Spirit of Christmas' at the time of booking. Passengers are permitted to move about the train and standing in the open-air cars is permitted for some of the best viewing of the city lights. Reservations are required due to the fact that these trips sell out every year and as seating is pre-assigned. Reservations can be made by phone and by email. Payment is required within 24 hours of booking. Reservations will be made under one name. It is the person making the reservations responsibility to inform other members of the group on the reservation and cancellation policy and other conditions of travel. Payment. Payment can be made in person at our ticket office or by providing a credit card number over the phone. You will be asked to provide proof of a secondary piece of identification such as a driver license number. The same can be done by email meeting the same requirements. Payment can be made in person by credit card, cash or by debit card.
Changes to a reservation. Changes can be made by telephone or by email. Changes to date of travel are allowed but subject to availability. Changes to group size are also availability and once again are subject to availability. As seats are pre-assigned, there is not a guarantee that additions to your booking will have the new passengers near your seats or even in the same coach. Ticket Office staff will do their best to accommodate your requests. For further information on changes, please contact our ticket office. Cancellation Policy. Tickets are non-refundable in the event of a cancellation by passengers. In the unlikely event that the KHR must cancel a trip, a full refund will be made to passengers. When cancellation occurs, passengers will have the option of taking a credit for a future trip on the other KHR railtours.
The Kamloops Heritage Railway began railtour operations on June 22, 2002 with the 'Spirit of Kamloops' railtour. This trip featured the heritage of the railways including the Bill Miner Train Robbery reenactment and operated in July and August. In 2003, the KHR added the 'Spirit of Christmas' railtour to expand our tourism product. The local business improvement association was looking to add features to the winter season and especially the Christmas period to attract visitors and shoppers to the downtown. The KHR staff and volunteers looked for a theme and chose to recreate a 'Christmas of Old' . Festive lighting and bringing back familiar characters from many people's memories of their youth. A departure was made to pick up Santa and the elves and bring them back into Kamloops. Since then, the 'Spirit of Christmas' railtour has become a season tradition and a favourite of the volunteers and staff of the KHR.
A Christmas of Old with Carollers and Hot Chocolate prior to boarding. Sing along and enjoy the festive season.
Join the Kamloops Heritage Railway on a journey into the past on the 'Spirit of Christmas' heritage train pulled by the 1912 steam locomotive KHR 2141. The train is lit with hundreds of lights and with the crisp cool winter air sending steam from the locomotive swirling around the lights, magic is created. You will be transported to a Christmas of old, traditional music, travellers mingling on the platform with a wide assortment of familiar characters. Scrooge in his usual foul mood and with his negative attitude, Frosty the Snowman, Tin Soldiers, a Sugar Plum Fairy, Jack Frost, a Winter Princess, Cindy Lou Who, and all our passengers play the role of citizens of Whoville with of course, the Grinch, if we're unlucky. It's all aboard for the journey across the trestle bridge and over the ice covered river to St. Joseph's Historic Church where we will pick up Santa and the Elves and bring them back into Kamloops. Santa makes sure to visit everyone onboard on the way back with a treat for all.
Come and watch the elves as they move presents around the train in preparation for Santa's visit.
The 'Spirit of Christmas' train boards and detrains at the restored CN Station (now the Keg Steakhouse and Bar) located at Station Plaza, 510 Lorne Street. The station is located just east of Interior Savings Centre between Riverside Park and Pioneer Park. The Kamloops Heritage Railway's ticket office is located in the horseshoe-shaped retail area just outside the main door of the station building at Station Plaza. Parking is available to the east of the station (requires payment) and is available on Lorne Street (some paid, some free). For the 'Spirit of Christmas' train, . Passengers that have their tickets can go directly to the line up which is in front of the CN Station building on the north side and next to the tracks. Seating onboard in the coaches is reserved and your ticket will have your seat number on it. Seating and standing in the open air cars is open. Passengers picking up tickets, should go to the ticket office . Washrooms are available in the ticket office as well as souveniers can be purchased in our gift shop. Entertainment begins at 30 minutes before departure on the platform so passengers should plan to arrive and be in place in the line up by that time. The area that passengers line up in is covered. Boarding begins 15 minutes before departure and the train departs at either 4:30 pm or 7:00 pm. The train returns to the station one hour and ten minutes after departure and the last passengers will be detrained within approx. ten to fifteen minutes. The ticket office will be open upon our return for washroom access and giftshop sales.
Well someone was uninvited but showed up anyways. Not to worry, there is a Winter Princess that will keep an eye on the Grinch.
The 'Spirit of Christmas' will be pulled by the restored 1912 steam locomotive KHR 2141. Directly behind the locomotive and tender will be the cafe-lounge car KHR 402 'Monte Lake' which has some inside seating.. Next are the open-air coaches KHR 301 and KHR 302. These are covered but open on the sides with wooden benches facing outwards on both sides down the entire length of the cars. These are the best cars for viewing the city and train lights and people are free to ride in them if they wish to leave their seats in the coaches. Following the open air cars are the restored heritage coaches KHR 403 'Riverside Park', the KHR 404 and the KHR 405 where people have reserved seats inside. Passengers are free to move about the train while we travel and you are invited to visit the other coaches, go out to the open air cars or visit the caboose or dining car. There is seating for seventy six passengers inside the coaches and the seats face each other in groups of 4. While sitting in the coaches is warmer than the open air cars, they are not heated so dress for the weather. There is a washroom located in the Riverside Park coach but passengers are requested to use the washrooms in the ticket office prior to departure if possible. The last car in the consist is the KHR 501 'Westwold' caboose. Entertainers will circulate throughout the train to visit with passsengers and when Santa and the Elves come on board, they will visit every person onboard handing out treats.
We pick up Santa at St. Joseph's Historic Church and bring him and the Elves back into town.
