Thomas S. Kreutz was a railroad enthusiast who lived in the Spokane for most of his life. Born in Billings, Montana in 1928, Kreutz moved to Spokane as a child before graduating from Gonzaga University and marrying Helen Skok in 1953. One of Kreutz's many hobbies was locating and photographic locomotives, with a particular interest in steam locomotives.
This collection consists mostly of Kreutz's photographs taken in the Spokane region, which includes northern Idaho and is part of a larger collection housed at Eastern Washington Unviersity. The collection was donated by the Washington, Idaho & Montana Railway History Preservation Group, Inc. where Kreutz's photographs taken in and around Potlach, Idaho reside.