Brought up in Bradford, Peter grew up as the city's trolleybus network gradually declined. In 1986, Peter began a career in publishing, working for a number of years for Ian Allan Ltd, where he oversaw the commissioning and publication of a wide range of books. The first book that he wrote was British and Irish Tramway Systems since 1945, which was published 1992. Since then he has written a number of books on transport subjects.

He moved to Shropshire in 2007 and is now a full-time author and editor. He is also a director and secretary of the Online Transport Archive, a director of Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride, a trustee of the West Shropshire Talking Newspaper, a committee member of the National Railway Heritage Awards and a past president of the Rotary Club of Shrewsbury.