Is this a hydraulic ramp e.g. an old Bradbury? If so the motor does not reverse, the ramp lowers by gravity when a valve is opened. This unit is just a single-direction starter. There is a mechanical interlock between the hydraulic valve and the starter.
A forward / reverse starter for a split-phase, capacitor-start or cap-start/cap-run motor has separate contacts for the start and run winding in each direction. They are cross connected so that both contactors energise one winding with the same polarity in both directions, but the other winding with opposite polarity for one direction. It doesn't actually matter which of the start and run windings is reversed, the key is that one is reversed relative to the other. This means that a reversible single-phase motor* must have four live cores in the cable to the starter as the start and run windings are connected separately. A single-direction motor has the two windings connected together internally and therefore only needs two live cores.
*Excluding small permanent split capacitor motors that have a common terminal in the winding, hence only three outgoing connections.
What makes you think the starter is burnt out?