The Medway Handyman wrote:
Appin wrote:
The message
from The Natural Philosopher contains these words:


Then I have seen paraffin engines: paraffin was in use for lamps from
IIRC the mid 9th century onwards. Also alcohol engines. Moderm model
aircraft engines are alcohol engines with glow plugs.
I would guess that te sort of kerosene/paraffin type fuels were in
use before petrol was actually.
James "Paraffin" Young developed the first commerical production of
petroleum in the 1850s, working largely from oil shale. It was he
who was largely responsible for defining the point on the fractional
distillation product should be taken off and paraffin was the point
for the standard product he marketed most enthusiastically. The
company also had a large business manufactuing new designs of lamps
specially made to burn the new product to best advantage.

So, Rudolph Diesel sorted the engine in 1893, seems like Young sorted
paraffin in 1850, I wonder when commercial diesel fuel became available?


I am thinking back here..you know even WWII diesel was not the fuel of
choice..German tanks used it, but ours did not IIRC. they caught fire
most spectacularly.

ISTR that the R101 airship was supposed to have diesel engines, tha was
mid thirties...

Marine diesels were I think becoming common in the 20's..as were
stationary diesels..

So I would say there was a smattering of diesel about in the 20's and a
steady uptake to the 90's.

Pre WWII even a petrol station was a comparative rarity.