Paul Shannon has been a keen follower of the railway scene since the early 1970s. Alongside his career in education he developed particular interests in railway infrastructure and rail freight. He has visited most parts of the railway network and photographed the lines, stations, depots, yards, freight terminals and signalling that make it possible to run trains from A to B. He has written many magazine articles and video scripts as well as compiling over 30 books on varied railway topics.