Abstract
A COMPREHENSIVE statement of the present position of the Diesel engine in its application to road vehicles was given by Major Goddard in a paper presented at a joint meeting of the East Midland Section of the Institute of Fuel and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers at University College, Nottingham, on February 20. It is almost eight years since the first Diesel-engined vehicles, two demonstration lorries imported by the Daimler Benz Co., from Germany, were seen in Great Britain and, in the interval, this class of vehicle has been adopted by many transport companies. It is estimated that the number in operation in Great Britain is approximately 12,000; more than 900 London buses have already been fitted with Diesel engines, and the rest are being converted as quickly as circumstances permit; the magnitude of the change that is taking place so unobtrusively is probably little realised by the general public. This rapid adoption of the engine in commercial vehicles and, still more, the appearance of a Diesel-engined car?a Bentley with Gardner engine?in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1933, when it gained one of the awards, give a general interest to the information Major Goddard brought together in his paper. After setting out in detail the advantages of this type over the petrol engine, he discussed the conditions under which combustion is controlled and gave figures relative to fuel consumption and economy, speeds and maintenance costs. From these, a clear idea as to current practice and performance can be obtained. In dealing with the advantages of conversion of petrol-engined vehicles to the newer system, given a thoroughly reliable make of engine, the saving on fuel alone over a period of five years was stated to be rather more than twice the initial cost of conversion.
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Diesel Engines for Road Transport. Nature 137, 392–393 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137392d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137392d0