Youngstown Steel Heritage

08/31/2026

We have been working on the crosshead for the Tod Engine over the past couple of days. I was just looking at its drawing and noticed the date that it was checked. March 20, 1913. Three days later it would start raining and continue raining for four days straight. Between 7 to 9 inches fell and without the reservoirs that we have today, the Mahoning River flooded to the point where the William Tod plant was five to six feet under water.

08/29/2026

May 30, 1956. B&O excursion crossing the Erie at Deforest Junction heading north on the branch to Fairport Harbor. What would you give to go back in time and be in that open gondola!

Cal Banse photo

08/27/2026

Three years ago the Erie Railroad searchlight signal that was on display at the Canfield Fairgrounds blew over in a windstorm. The 3/4" tie rods that held the case together rotted away to nothing causing the case to disassemble itself and fall.

Our friends at the Mahoning Valley Railroad Heritage Association asked us for help in rebuilding the signal. We brought the remains to our facility and slowly over time rebuilt the case, replaced the mast (Thanks Boardman Steel for the new 5" pipe) and reassembled the signal replacing anything too far gone with spares from our signal parts collection.

Today we finally got it back in place at the Fairgrounds, just in time for this year's fair. With the help of Carl Jacobson, Mike McCleery, Scott Kale and the fairgrounds maintenance crew the signal now once again stands tall along Route 46.

We still have some more work to do to it. Install mechanisms, wire it up so that it can be illuminated at night, add visors and do some touch up painting but for the most part it is now complete. We also have to find a place to display the cast iron "Look Out for The Locomotive" sign.

08/27/2026

Thanks to the talents of Don Henderson, we have created new branding for the Tod McDonald Rolling Mill project, incorporating the historic William Tod Company insignia. We have also just placed an order for new shirts in both sports grey and safety orange and will have them in stock in time for our fall open house on Sept. 19 and 20. The image on the rear of the shirt is based on a 1903 William Tod Company advertisement showing one of their two cylinder reversing engines that they built numerous examples of.

08/24/2026

If you would like to sponsor one of the interpretive signs being ma...

08/23/2026

Fred Dibnah I am not! I go up 25 feet on a lift and turn into a weak-kneed blubbering baby! I never did like high places and like them even less now. But we did manage to get three sections of gutters installed on the Tod Engine Building. Gutters that we purchased in 2012 but never installed until now.

The roof could use coating. I have the material but who knows if I'll have the guts to do it!

08/13/2026

1.6 tons of Kentucky bituminous in the bin and 7,000 gallons of water in the tank. 58 is ready to run!

08/11/2026

Our scissor lift had a bit of a problem. It would go up but wouldn't come back down. So after finding out that it was a shorted diode causing the problem I took a ride on it and while up in the air grabbed a couple of shots of the 14" mill patiently waiting for some love and attention.

We will likely get started on the final installation of the mill and driveshafts next year after the restoration of the Tod Engine has been completed. Each of these components has to be moved off the foundation, foundation bolts holes core drilled then moved back into place and grouted in.

Piece of cake compared to the work we are doing on the Tod.

08/08/2026

Thirty years of looking at this crankshaft and I never noticed this until now. And its good news!

The Tod Engine at Youngstown Steel Heritageyoungstownsteel.org