Local effort gets final pieces of historic Tod Engine in place

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The park should be open to the public in 2007.

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

HUBBARD — A local man determined to preserve a very large piece of Mahoning Valley history has moved one step closer to that goal.

Rick Rowlands, founder of the Tod Engine Foundation nonprofit organization, stood by Sept. 18 as the last two pieces to the only remaining Tod Engine were delivered to a small historic park on Youngstown-Hubbard Road. A 50-ton crankshaft and 38-ton bedplate were moved to the site from V&M Star Steel.

Another bedplate for the engine had been moved to the site in 2004. Rowlands was awaiting the arrival of the last two pieces to begin the restoration process.

Rowlands starts most mornings by heading over to the East Side and the Tod Engine storage facility. He tediously goes to work on what many people would see as little more than large pieces of scrap metal, but in that metal Rowlands sees much more — the history of workers in the Valley.

The Tod Engine was built in 1913 in downtown Youngstown by the William Tod Co. The engine played a major part in the steel rolling process at the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. for 65 years before the company closed its doors.

V&M Star now occupies part of the mill. The Tod Engine was donated to the nonprofit organization in 1996. Costs to dismantle the engine and to move it have exceeded $13,600.

Ready to rebuild

With all the pieces now in place, Rowlands said, he can set about the task of restoring and rebuilding the machine. He said preserving the machine should be of great importance to those in the Youngstown area.

"This machine was designed by Youngstown people, built by Youngstown people and used in a Youngstown company, so it has quite a local significance," he said. "Many people don't remember the industry that was here, but when you look at something like this you kind of remember what we are capable of doing here."

Rowlands hopes to turn the East Side property housing the machine into a local park opened to the public. He had hoped to have the park opened by 2005, but not having the entire machine in place pushed the date back.

Rowlands said he will now reassemble some of the pieces to the machine, then build an enclosure around it. He is hoping to have the machine ready for the public by Memorial Day of next year.

jgoodwin@vindy.com

Sunday, October 1, 2006