Youngstown Steel Heritage

Youngstown Steel Heritage Youngstown Steel Heritage is a non profit organization that operates the J&L Narrow Gauge Railroad in
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In all the years that we have been working with old steel mill stuff we have never had the need to pour a babbitt bearin...
09/06/2026

In all the years that we have been working with old steel mill stuff we have never had the need to pour a babbitt bearing. But today we did our first one on site and instead of starting out with something small, we did one for a 22" journal.

It came out pretty much perfect. Just some oil grooves to add and its ready to install.

09/04/2026

New shirts are here!

A few photos of the dismantling of the Tod Engine from 30 years ago with the original "Wrecking Crew". Dave and DJ Roti...
09/03/2026

A few photos of the dismantling of the Tod Engine from 30 years ago with the original "Wrecking Crew". Dave and DJ Rotigel, Craig Prucha, Matt Picaro, Arnie Fero and Richard Monk.

Took a break from working in the heat to pay a visit to Oak Hill Cemetery. Many of the people who established our local...
09/01/2026

Took a break from working in the heat to pay a visit to Oak Hill Cemetery. Many of the people who established our local iron and steel industry are interred there including a few familiar names.

Work Continues on the HP connecting rod. Pulled the slippers off as well as the backing plates to clean everything up. ...
08/31/2026

Work Continues on the HP connecting rod. Pulled the slippers off as well as the backing plates to clean everything up. The rod itself is finally starting to get a bright metal finish again after expending a full drum's worth of elbow grease on it.

I had to chain the crosshead down to the bed of the roll lathe and move the rod up and down with the crane to free up the wrist pin.

Hoping to pour the new babbitt this weekend and get this rod installed as soon as possible after that.

We have been working on the crosshead for the Tod Engine over the past couple of days. I was just looking at its drawin...
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.

May 30, 1956. B&O excursion crossing the Erie at Deforest Junction heading north on the branch to Fairport Harbor. Wha...
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

Three years ago the Erie Railroad searchlight signal that was on display at the Canfield Fairgrounds blew over in a wind...
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.

Thanks to the talents of Don Henderson, we have created new branding for the Tod McDonald Rolling Mill project, incorpor...
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.

Address

2261 Hubbard Road
Youngstown, OH
44505

Opening Hours

10am - 2pm

Telephone

(330) 272-4089

Website

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