J&H McLaren was a British engineering company in Hunslet, Leeds, England, that manufactured traction engines, stationary engines and later, diesel engines.
The company was founded in 1876 by John and Henry McLaren. They had both been apprenticed to Black, Hawthorn & Co of Gateshead, builders 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.
Steam power
McLaren's first traction engine was built in 1877. The company rapidly developed a range of traction engines, steam rollers, ploughing engines, agricultural implements and stationary engines. One of their forgotten achievements is the invention, British Patent 763 of 1880, of the traction-centre engine, for driving steam-powered fairground roundabouts. This is often wrongly attributed to Savage of King's Lynn. In the 1890s, McLaren developed a range of vertical triple-expansion engines for the new industry of electricity generation.