On Sat, 26 Nov 2005, Erik Meltzer wrote:

>>> A combustion engine would be a poor choice for a starter,

>> ...nevertheless, a great deal of heavy equipment was equipped exactly so.

> How did they couple starter and engine then? Clutch? Hydraulics?

With a pedal-operated mechanical linkage. Think of your standard starter
engagement fork and lever, only on a big scale and thrown not by a
solenoid but by the equipment operator's foot.