Crawler Crane
The mobile crawler crane is specific 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 sites without the need for a lot of set up. Because of their huge size and weight, crawler cranes are are difficult to transport from one site to another and are rather pricey. The crawler's tracks offer stability to the machine and allow the crane to work without using outriggers, although, there are several models which do use outriggers. Additionally, the tracks provide the machine's movement.
Early Mobile Cranes
Initially, the very first mobile cranes were mounted to train cars and move along specifically designed short rail lines. When the 20th century arrived, the crawler tractor changed and this brought the introduction of crawler tracks to the agricultural business as well as the construction industry. Not long after, excavators adopted the crawler tracks and this further featured the machine's versatility. It was not long after when crane manufacturers decided that the crawler track market was a safe bet.
The First Crawler Crane
Around the 1920s, Northwest Engineering, a crane company within the United States, mounted its first crane on crawler tracks. 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 Charles and Ray Moore of Chicago, Illinois; the Moore Speedcrane was amongst the first to attempt to copy rail lines for cranes. Made in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Speedcrane was 15 ton, steam-powered, wheel-mounted crane. During the year 1925, a company known as Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, from Manitowoc, Wisconsin recognized the tracked crane's marketability and potential. They decided to team up with the Moore brothers so as to produce it and go into business.