More than 300 runners and walkers from New Zealand and Australia are expected to race the Kingston Flyer train from Fairlight to Kingston near Queenstown on Sunday.
In April last year, former Marlbrough winegrower David Bryce bought the Flyer after its previous owners went into receivership.
The train's operations manager, Russell Glendinning, who is also a former driver, says the historic steam locomotive did have some mechanical issues last year, but it's ready to go.