Dining, entertainment, art and attractions on over a quarter mile of riverfront. Visit the market, lunch on the river, relax in the park, and enjoy the sights of three rivers at one landing.
All tracks lead to downtown aboard living, breathing time machines. Take the train to a baseball game, the zoo, or Science Central. Leave your car behind and take dinner in the dining car.
Walk, run, or bike through sixty miles of riverfront, neighborhoods, art, and culture in all corners of the county.
Experience Fort Wayne’s story and create your own.
This is where river, rail and trail connect – Headwaters Junction.
Against the color and atmosphere of a recreated railroad yard, Headwaters Junction draws thousands downtown as a versatile anchor for mixed use complimented by walkable pedestrian areas, green space and trailhead, water features, and riverfront access that embrace Fort Wayne’s cultural and historical significance. Headwaters Junction will transform North River into a sustainable and inviting public space for recreational, social, artistic, and commercial activities.
Connecting the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, Pufferbelly Trail, Science Central, and five area neighborhoods, the route of the railroad line enables visitors and tourists to experience Fort Wayne by historic train or streetcar.
Imagine boarding a dinner train downtown, hosting friends and family in a classy, animated setting aboard a vintage dining car or in a nightclub, taking a streetcar to shop downtown or to a baseball game, learning to control a century-old steam locomotive, hearing an impromptu concert along the riverfront, or touring the city by bike, streetcar, and boat. Envision a street scape with locally owned shops, points of interest, restaurants, and more.
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Download the original Conceptual Development Plan.
WAY COOL !!!
Thanks Kelly!
Very cool! I wish this happend years ago. When it says it will connect the zoo/science central ect, does this mean you will be able to travel from downtown to the zoo? and would then mean putting in new rail line?
Hey Kevan!
The right of way to the New York Central and Toledo & Chicago Electric Interurban Railway were once both routed north of 4th Street to Fernhill Avenue and beyond. The Pufferbelly Bike Trail will take up a portion of the New York Central right of way north of Jacobs Street and over State Street, whereas the interurban right of way is still available. In some areas there is over 80 feet of right away available.
In the plan, the rail line would end at a trailhead at Franke Park Drive, where a branch of the Pufferbelly will reach Franke Park and the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo. It could potentially also reach Glenbrook Mall.
Let’s do it!
Good idea, as long as 765 is protected from inclement weather and vandals.
GREAT IDEA !!!
I like the idea of Headwaters Junction. I enjoy however bragging at the train shows that I live in New Haven by the 765..lol but I agree with most that as long as the 765 is protected I am all for it. I would like to see more excursions and such if this happens.
I say lets do it. We could really accomplish a lot with what this project is about.
I support this 100%, any new growth in Fort Wayne is a plus for us all. This City needs to start looking outside the box.
Exceptional idea and great draw for the area. I hope Fort Wayne would do it. (It is too bad Lima did not do it with its history. Even so, FW has a great opportunity to show the world how it should be done and put itself on the map.) I hope we will see steam locomotive driven tours coming out of the museum as well.
I support efforts to make this happen. This plan makes perfect sense to me and enhances efforts to bring people to Fort Wayne.
Nice plan, but is this in a flood plane? Also, a small scale soviet type pioneer railway, which could be used as a school – training attraction may be somethinhg to look into.
The flood plain looks like this: http://www.northrivernow.org/images/stories/pdfs/northriver_flood_small.pdf
Projected Cost?
On page 40 of the conceptual plan the projected costs are broken down. Based on estimates from comparable projects and common sense, the total is about $21.5 with some room for change.
Without knowing all the details and pros and cons, this seems like very forward-thinking to me. I like that it’s historical, innovative, and practical. I like that it has as its goals not just economic development but also social development – encouraging physical, environmental and social health.
Would 765 be the only mode of transportation? That seems odd and inefficient. If not, what other kinds of locomotives/railcars will be used and how many?
Thanks, Josh. Ideally, the development would provide the 765 a public home and terminal point for the recreational excursions it operates throughout the Midwest throughout the year as it already does. Due to its size, it would be operated within this development on a limited basis for special events, open houses, etc.
This page illustrates some of the other motive power that could be utilized, which include a smaller steam locomotive better suited for regular service, vintage diesel electric locomotives, and an adapted streetcar or interurban car body powered by an alternative fuel source.
I’m all aboard! (But my husband wants a breakfast car excursion : ) One thought for you, anyway to cut costs by recycling materials to build or otherwise make this “green”? Don’t get me wrong. I am not a prius driver, but it would help sell the idea and possibly get additional funding.
Breakfast or brunch trains are definitely on the menu! There’s been a lot of discussion on how to implement LEED or green style approaches to the construction, particularly with the adoption of a recreated streetcar that runs on batteries and the buildings themselves. Structures like the roundhouse were inherently green at the turn of the 20th century with their massive sky and window lights to allow as much daylight in as possible in otherwise dimly lit spaces. We are still in the conceptual design stage and will be looking at many different ways to make this environmentally sustainable.
How can we help make this a reality?
In one of our last meetings with the city, we were encouraged to continue to solicit reactions and support from the citizens and neighborhoods as we’ve been doing from the start, and have recently started to do again in a big way. Though the city may ultimately pursue a development option that doesn’t include Headwaters Junction, it has created and sustained a meaningful buzz within the community and needs to stay in the conversation. Write our mayor and importantly, John, the city’s director of development. Their email addresses are listed here: http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/contact-the-city-%11-one-main-st.-,-fort-wayne,-in-46802.html
Kelly, I apologize for taking so long to post my response on this. I think it’s an excellent idea, and the presentation is top quality professional work.
There was a time when I would have said this idea is too good for Fort Wayne to even consider. Attitudes among the community’s leaders have changed, though, as evidenced by the public and official support for greenway expansion and other accomodations for alternative transportation, and a generally supportive attitude toward public amenities that make the city more interesting and exciting.
A side note regarding streetcars and interurban cars: It’s possible to mount a diesel generator on a set of trolley or freight car trucks so that it can be towed behind a streetcar to provide power for propulsion, without having to modify the streetcar’s propulsion system. That makes it possible to operate a variety of cars while maintaining their authenticity and without the expense of catenary and a substation.
The model in the Photo is Beautiful! Like the Steam in the Background-Dreamy.