The Kingston Flyer will officially launch at the end of next month, but first the historic train will blow off some steam this Friday for the first time in two years.
New owner David Bryce has announced that on October 29 the Kingston community will celebrate a Kingston Carnival and Picnic Day with entertainment and the much-awaited take-off of the train.
Mr Bryce told the Otago Daily Times yesterday the line for the train has been certified and licenced while the locomotive and carriages have also passed the test from Land Transport New Zealand.
"Various inspectors have completed work and everything's good, so it is up to LTNZ to issue the licence when they see fit.
"We're all sitting here smiling."
Mr Bryce was extremely excited to involve Kingston and others in the the train's "rebirth" and he would be sending out invites to some well-known people, although he said Prime Minister John Key has prior engagements on that day.
So far Mr Bryce has the Southern Sounds men's choir, the Southland accordion band, and an impressive number of vintage cars lined up for the day.
The Kingston Tavern will also be opening up for use on the day. Mr Bryce indicated in August that it would have been running by this time.
Meanwhile, at the end of this week the train will steam up as the engines start for the first time since it went into receivership in November 2009.
