One of their forgotten achievements is the invention, British Patent 763 of 1880, of the traction-centre engine, for driving steam-powered fairground roundabouts.

The zenith of this effort was a pair of 3000 ihp engines for Leeds Corporation’s Whitehall Road Power Station.

After the start of the 20th century, the company introduced a tractor for direct haulage and a range of powerful direct-ploughing engines.

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 Richard Garrett & Sons of Leiston in 1928, and Kerr Stuart of Stoke-on-Trent, again powered by McLaren-built diesels.

A major contract with the USSR for diesel-generator sets resulted in the number of employees increasing tenfold and new buildings acquired.

Group by Hawker Siddeley saw the Leeds production facility fade away and the main works closed in January 1959.