He trained as a mechanical engineer, initially working for the Bradford Dyers' Association Ltd. After being made redundant in the 1930s he joined the Hull firm Fenner in 1931.
British Rail's 1955 modernisation plan prompted him to begin a systematic study of the locomotives of the LNER, during which he visited engine sheds and works, collecting locomotive related documentation such as works records.
[1] He joined the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society in 1936 and made significant contributions to its multi-volume publication Locomotives of the LNER.
[1] He also published works documenting the locations of LNER locomotives on the first and last day of its existence, and on the railways of Hull.
Yeadon's will donated his collection of photographs, documents and research notes to the Brynmor Jones Library of the University of Hull;[1] the collection includes over 30,000 photographs, primarily of LNER locomotives and trains, as well as company (works) records of locomotive repairs, boiler repairs, allocations, and other documents.