A badge of honor Yu Chun-jung, head of the Chiayi office, says that the office began to talk about restoring the steam engines several years ago, but cost concerns and environmental issues kept the project on hold. It was only after the restoration of CK101 received such positive reviews that the office invited back the retired master mechanics to restore No.26 over a five-month period.
嘉義林管處處長余春榮表示，其實早在幾年前林管處就有意修復阿里山蒸汽火車，但礙於經費、環保等因素，一直未付諸行動，直到去年 CK101 復駛大獲好評後，才請出老師傅以五個月的時間修復阿里山二十六號。