The new owners of the Canberra Railway Museum aim to have it reopened by early next year after an extensive clean up effort.
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From the first weekend of September, NSW Rail Museum will run steam train trips from Canberra Railway Station to Queanbeyan and Bungendore to help raise money for the new museum.
The museum closed in November 2016, after its freight company – started to subsidise popular but expensive heritage train trips – collapsed with over $700,000 in debt.
The company went into liquidation, selling off scrap and carriages, some of which have been sold off and relocated to NSW.
The museum's new director, John Cheeseman, said they had reached an agreement with the liquidator and the ACT government to take back the Kingston site on September 1.
"We are purely looking at being a railway museum and running steam trains for the people of Canberra," Mr Cheeseman said.
"We're planning on opening to the public early next year."
While the trips will start from September 1, the museum site needs a clean up and is currently unsafe for the public.
The site has remained abandoned since its closer 18 months ago, with thieves swiping valuable heritage locomotive parts on Boxing Day last year.
The irreplaceable parts had been removed from the steam locomotive which had brought the first train to Canberra 100 years ago, and were being stored on site before the theft.
"We've had volunteers on the site now for some months, the grass has all been trimmed but there is a fair bit of work to be done," Mr Cheeseman said.
"There's still quite a number of rolling stock that was purchased at the auction that hasn't been removed from the site."
Mr Cheeseman said the new owners of the uncollected stock will be charged rent if they don't collect it by the month.
There are holes cut in the fences and Mr Cheeseman they would have to set up security cameras to monitor the site.
A collection of about 40 carriages and locomotives - the engines which drive the train - remain on the site.
Other stock currently at the NSW Railway Museum will return, having been moved because of how ripe for theft the Kingston site was after it was abandoned.
The new museum was a registered charity and would be funded through its members, with Mr Cheeseman saying there were 70 so far.
"What we're basically announcing now is we're open for business," Mr Cheeseman said.
