Greg, by any chance does the Fire Department still have the "Governor Tod" Steam Fire Engine, and if so, could you post a picture of it?
Sadly, the Gov Tod Steamer that served the city of Youngstown beginning in 1868 was sold for scrap in June of 1919.
Thank you Greg. It is sad that the Gov. Tod is lost to us, because it had quite a history during its years of service.
What are the chances of finding an engine of the same model to restore and place in Number 1 station as a museum piece?
There are Silsby Steamers around, most are in nonworking condition. There is a site devoted to Silsby and can be found at http://www.engine3.org/Silsby/silsbyhome.html. I'm not sure how much it would cost to purchase one of the remaining steamers and restore it. Preserving historical pieces of apparatus is not high on the fire department's to do list so it falls on historians/collectors like myself to try and keep some of the apparatus from receiving the same fate that the Gov Tod received.
On an interesting side note, another one of the early steamers the fire department used was named the Cornhusker. Youngstown was contacted by the Smithsonian Institute who wanted to add the early steamer to their museum collection. The fire department wanted to keep it for parade and other special events and it was eventually retired to the scrap pile as well.