J&H McLaren & Co.

J&H McLaren manufactured traction engines, stationary engines and later diesel engines in Leeds, United Kingdom.

The Steam Engine

The company was founded in 1876 by John and Henry McLaren. They had both been apprenticed to Black, Hawthorn of Gateshead, builder of railway locomotive and marine engines. The new Midland Engine Works was situated on Jack Lane in Hunslet, Leeds within sight of many of the great engineering companies of Leeds, e.g. Hudswell Clarke, Hunslet Engine Co. Manning Wardle, John Fowler & Co. and Kitson & Co.

The company rapidly developed a range of traction engines, road rollers, ploughing engines, agricultural implements and stationary engines. One of their forgotten achievements is the invention of the traction-centre engine, for driving steam-powered fairground roundabouts. This often wrongly attributed to Savage of Kings Lynn. In the 1890s McLarens developed a range of vertical triple-expansion engines for electricity generation. The zenith of this effort was a pair of 3000 i.h.p. engines for Leeds Corporation’s Whitehall Road Power Station. After the turn of the century the company introduced a range of powerful direct ploughing engines and a tractor for direct haulage. Other minor products were, showmen’s engines, crane engines, portable engines, railway locomotives and Darby Diggers.

McLarens had a good overseas market with over 50% of goods exported. They had local offices in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and South America with smaller representation in Hungary, Germany and Italy.

The Diesel Engine

After the First World War, McLarens built a cable-ploughing windlass powered by a Dorman petrol engine. In 1926 the company entered into an agreement with the German Company Benz to manufacture diesel engines. These were the first volume produced automotive type diesel engines produced in Britain, and as a result were in the forefront of the use of diesel engines for road, rail, and agricultural purposes. Examples include the first diesel powered railway locomotive, built by Hudswell Clarke in Leeds and powered by a McLaren built diesel. The first diesel powered commercial vehicles in Britain were made by Garrett of Leiston in 1928, again powered by a McLaren built diesel. A complete range of diesel engines was designed up to around 400 h.p. and these were very widely used for industrial applications, one particularly successful use was in standby power sets.

In 1943, the business was sold by the family to the Associated British Oil Engine company and this was initially very successful, with the number of employees increase tenfold and new buildings acquired. Unfortunately these glory years did not last. In 1957, the take over of the Brush A.B.O.E. Group by Hawker Siddeley saw the Leeds production facility fade away and the main works closed in January 1959.

References

Pease, J. (2003) The History of J&H McLaren of Leeds, Landmark Publishing, Ashbourne, UK,