Crawler Crane
The mobile crawler crane is particular crane designed with either a lattice boom or a telescopic boom. These move upon the crawlers tracks. As this crane is self-propelled, it could move around certain work sites without the need for much set up. Because of their huge weight and size, crawler cranes are rather costly and even difficult to transport from one site to another. The crawler's tracks provide stability to the machinery and enable the crane to work without utilizing outriggers, although, there are several models that do utilize outriggers. What's more, the tracks provide the machine's movement.
Early Mobile Cranes
The very first mobile cranes were originally mounted to train cars. They moved along short rail lines that were specifically made for the project. When the 20th century arrived, the crawler tractor evolved and this brought the introduction of crawler tracks to the construction industry and the agricultural business. Not long after, the crawler tracks were adopted by excavators and this further featured the versatility of the machinery. It was not long after before crane companies decided that the crawler track market was a safe bet.
The First Crawler Crane
Northwest Engineering, a crane company within the USA, was the first to mount its crane on crawler tracks during the 1920s. It described the new machine as a "locomotive crane, independent of tracks and moveable under its own power." By the middle part of the 1920s, crawler tracks had become the chosen means of traction for heavy crane uses.
The Speedcrane
The Moore Speedcrane, developed by Charles and Ray Moore of Chicago, Illinois was among the first attempts to copy the rails for cranes. Made within Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Speedcrane was 15 ton, steam-powered, wheel-mounted crane. During 1925, a company known as Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, from Manitowoc, Wisconsin recognized the potential and the marketability of the tracked crane. They decided to team up with the Moore brothers to be able to manufacture it and go into business.