Just wondering what is happening with the Youngstown Steel Heritage group. I was looking at their website and it doesn't seem to have been updated in a while.

Rick (YSHF's leader) has been quite busy with the Carrie Blast Furnace project over in Pittsburgh.

He seems to be an incredible man with un-equaled drive and the ability to get stuff done!

You can find info on the Youngstown group's stuff at these places:
http://todengine.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tod-Engin ... 4326534908
http://todengine.websitetoolbox.com/?forum=105270

Check out what Rick has been doing at Carrie:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carrie-Fu ... 2831083551

Preservation on a railroad scale is daunting enough, so it's even more impressive seeing what he accomplishes with huge industrial facilities.

I've been here all along! Not much time to update the website as I'm spending a lot of time out in the field and I've also shifted over to communicating mainly via my facebook pages.

My focus now is exclusively steel industry preservation work. It seems I get burned every time I take on a rail preservation project, so I'm not sticking my neck out again on any more rail equipment. Might as well stick to what I am good at!

In two years our big "Tod Engine" turns 100, and I would like to get it fully restored for that occasion. I'm not planning to run it on steam (our cylinders are as big as most people's boilers), but will drive it with a DC mill motor powered by a GE 70 tonner parked behind the building (It has a 250 VDC electrical system). So this year is an all out push to get the 70 tonner running again, the 1893 Morgan overhead crane running and the Tod Engine stripped down so it can be lined up and leveled.

Meanwhile, I do spend 2 to 3 days a week at Carrie Furnaces National Historic Landmark doing stabilization work and whatever else is needed to keep that place safe for visitors. You have not lived until you have had to run welding leads 150 feet to the top of a blast furnace and install new brackets to keep piping from returning to earth! Our 2012 season starts the end of April and is certainly worth making a trip to come and see. www.riversofsteel.com for reservations.

Also, once the Tod Engine has been restored I get to focus my attention on reassembling Rivers of Steel's 1000 ton 48" steam driven universal plate mill down at Carrie. Fortunately its going into a building with a 50 ton crane. These two engines are the last survivors of a class of "super" stationary steam power that otherwise have been completely obliterated from North America. The Tod has cylinders 34" and 68" dia. x 60" and the 48" mill engine has two cylinders 50" dia. x 60". Both could produce well over 4,000 HP each.