Crawler Crane
The mobile crawler crane is particular crane designed with either a telescopic boom or a lattice boom. These move upon the crawlers tracks. Because this crane is self-propelled, it can move around particular work locations without the need for a lot of set up. Due to their huge weight and size, crawler cranes are fairly costly and even hard to transport from one site to another. The crawler's tracks offer stability to the machine and allow the crane to work without using outriggers, although, there are some models that do use outriggers. Additionally, the tracks provide the movement of the machine.
Early Mobile Cranes
The first mobile cranes were initially mounted to train cars. They moved along short rail lines that were specially built for the project. Once the 20th century arrived, the crawler tractor evolved and this brought the introduction of crawler tracks to the construction business as well as the agricultural business. Not long after, the crawler tracks were adopted by excavators and this further featured the equipment's versatility. It was not long after when manufacturers of cranes decided that the crawler track market was a safe bet.
The Very First Crawler Crane
Northwest Engineering, a crane manufacturer within the USA, was the very first to mount its crane on crawler tracks in the 1920s. It described the new equipment as a "locomotive crane, independent of tracks and moveable under its own power." By the mid-1920s, crawler tracks had become the chosen means of traction for heavy crane operations.
The Speedcrane
Developed by Ray and Charles Moore of Chicago, Illinois; the Moore Speedcrane was amongst the first to attempt to replicate rail lines for cranes. Made in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Speedcrane was a steam-powered, wheel-mounted, 15 ton crane. During 1925, a company known as Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, from Manitowoc, Wisconsin recognized the tracked crane's potential and marketability. They decided to team up with the Moore brothers to be able to produce it and go into business.