John Alcock was built in Leeds in 1932 and previously worked for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway until 1943, and had various other owners until the Middleton Railway became its custodian in 1960. 7051 can be classed as one of the pioneer locomotives of the modern railway revolution, and many people will recognise the outlines of the popular Class 03/04 built by British Railways in the 1950s which were inspired by this loco built in Leeds.
