The Pufferbelly · a railroad that became a trail

1869 — today

The Pufferbelly Trail runs on the roadbed of the Fort Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw Railroad, built north from Fort Wayne beginning in 1869 — eighteen months, in Bill Adams' telling, to build the line toward Michigan — and later a New York Central corridor. The name is the documented nickname of a steam locomotive: a "pufferbelly," for the engines that once worked the line. The railroad's own record is in the Trains leg; what matters here is what happened after the trains stopped. The line was abandoned in the 1970s, and the corridor was not preserved: developers and private owners bought the land, and reacquiring it for public use, parcel by parcel, became the single most laborious element of the trail's making. The idea itself is dated by its makers: Adams, riding rail-trails in Missouri, Florida and a dozen other states after 2000, complained to a friend that Fort Wayne had none; the friend mentioned the abandoned Fort Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw; Adams became a founding member of Northwest Allen Trails in 2004 to pursue it.

The trail was built in pieces over two decades. In November 2007 the City received a federal Transportation Enhancement award of $967,167 toward the first construction, from Lawton Park to Fernhill Avenue on the old corridor, with a spur along Franke Park Drive to Franke Park and the Children's Zoo. Segments followed across the northwest side — State Boulevard to Fernhill, Wallen Road to Ludwig Road — while the northern reaches opened in sections: the stretch from Dupont Road to Life Bridge Church, over 1.6 miles, was dedicated with the church's public trailhead as the corridor's northernmost Allen County point at its opening. Parkview's trail guide counted 6.3 miles completed of a planned 13-mile trail within the county; TrailLink's listing gives 9.1 miles between Fort Wayne and Huntertown. On 3 December 2025 the City, Fort Wayne Trails, the Indiana DNR and residents marked the completion of the "Golden Spike" section — 1.7 miles of twelve-foot asphalt from Ice Way to Washington Center Road, a $4.2 million investment built with a nearly $2.7 million state Next Level Trails grant — named, Greenways Manager Dawn Ritchie explained, because once the Vann Family Crossing, a pedestrian bridge over Coliseum Boulevard expected to open in spring 2027, is complete, it will connect 130 miles of trail in Fort Wayne and Allen County. The City's current count is more than 13 miles of Pufferbelly constructed, from Fitch Road at the north to Fourth Street, where it meets the Rivergreenway downtown.

Sources: Input Fort Wayne, "How trails are connecting communities" (18 Apr 2018) — Castleman: "the Pufferbelly name comes from a nickname for a steam locomotive because the trail follows an 81-mile stretch of the old Fort Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw (FWJ&S) Railroad"; the railroad's construction begun 1869, eighteen months to Michigan; abandonment in the 1970s and the corridor's sale; Adams' founding role, 2004; right-of-way acquisition "the single most laborious element of trail development, next to fundraising." Geocaching cache page GC1CGCG (2008), quoting the City's project description — November 2007 federal Transportation Enhancement award of $967,167; twelve-foot asphalt on the former FWJ&S (later New York Central) corridor, Fourth Street to Fernhill Avenue; Franke Park spur; "the name is derived from the historic nickname for a steam locomotive, which is 'pufferbelly.'" InNorthwestNews — the Dupont Road to Life Bridge Church dedication, 1.6-plus miles, northernmost point at opening; "a conversion of the former New York Railroad line" [the corridor was New York Central's]. Parkview, "Pick a trail, any trail!" — 6.3 miles completed of a 13-mile trail. TrailLink — 9.1 miles, Fort Wayne to Huntertown. The Post and Mail, "City of Fort Wayne, businesses and others celebrate 'golden spike' of Pufferbelly Trail" (Dec 2025) — $4.2 million; 1.7 miles, Ice Way to Washington Center Road; Ritchie: "once a pedestrian bridge over Coliseum Boulevard… is completed, it will connect 130 miles of trail"; the Vann Family Crossing expected spring 2027. City of Fort Wayne, Engage, "The 'Golden Spike' section of the Pufferbelly Trail" — nearly $2.7 million Next Level Trails grant; the project complete. City of Fort Wayne, Rivergreenway page — "More than 13 miles of the Pufferbelly Trail have been constructed: from Fitch Road to Fourth Street."