William Allcard and Bank House. Railway pioneer William Allcard (1801-61) was appointed a Chief Engineer on the Liverpool to Manchester Railway by George Stephenson and drove the "Comet" at the opening in 1830. Heavily involved in the construction of the Grand Junction Railway, linking Warrington to Birmingham, Allcard went into partnership with William Buddicom to build locomotives. He also built carriages in a factory behind Bank House where he lived from 1839-1854. He was twice Mayor of Warrington before retiring to his native Derbyshire.