Weekend Steam: The Man Behind the Lens

Leo R. Clark of Washington, Illinois attended Midwest Old Settlers and Threshers reunions from the beginning in 1950. He was the official photographer for Engineers and Engines Magazine, the National Theshermen of America, and for his employer, the Toledo, Peoria, and Western Rairoad. Leo was an engineer for 48 years on that railroad, and he never had an engine in a wreck. He retired in 1969.

I have often wondered about the photographers who take the pictures we see every day, and here is a rare look. Leo took the above photo at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa in 1968 or 1969, and I was lucky enough to get into this shot. The photo below, from the November-December 1969 issue of Engineers and Engines, is a shot of Leo on his first trip as an engineer on the T P & W in August 1921. Leo took good notes, and we know that the picture was taken with a 2A Brownie box camera.


For a very good article about Leo, go here: * for a selection from the Iron Men Album archives.