Follow (us) wealthinsides for more tech updates! Built by Marshall, Sons & Co., the Field Marshall ran on a massive single-cylinder diesel engine. Huge compression. Heavy flywheel. No electric starter. And here’s what most people don’t realize: Back then, batteries weren’t always reliable — especially in cold, rural conditions. Turning over a high-compression diesel engine required a sudden, powerful burst of energy. So engineers did something unconventional. They built a cartridge starting system. A blank shotgun shell — no projectile — is inserted into a sealed chamber. When fired, it releases a controlled explosion of expanding gas. That force slams the piston down. The flywheel spins. The engine catches. If everything is timed perfectly → it roars to life. If not → you reset and try again. Innovation in that era was raw. No microchips. No push-button ignition. Just combustion used as mechanical force. What looks dramatic in this clip… is actually precision timing and old-school pr...