Crossley gas engine. 19th-century artwork of a British design of gas engine from the Crossley Brothers of Manchester. This is a vertical type, operating a winch and a friction wheel (flywheel). A gas engine is an internal combustion engine that runs on a gas fuel, such as natural gas, instead of the petrol used in car engines. Gas engines are used in heavy-duty industrial settings, such as factories. The first practical gas engines were developed in the 1860s. Artwork from the first volume (1897) of 'La Revue Scientifique et Industrielle' by French chemist and inventor Jules-Louis Breton (1872-1940).