Crawler Crane
The mobile crawler crane is specific crane made with either a lattice boom or a telescopic 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. Because of their enormous weight and size, crawler cranes are are hard to transport from one place to another and are fairly expensive. The crawler's tracks offer the machinery stability and enable the crane to function without the use of outriggers, however, there are some units that do use outriggers. What's more, the tracks provide the movement of the machinery.
Early Mobile Cranes
The first mobile cranes were initially mounted to train cars. They moved along short rail lines which were particularly made for the project. When the 20th century arrived, the crawler tractor evolved and this brought the introduction of crawler tracks to the construction business and the agricultural business. Not long after, the crawler tracks were adopted by excavators and this further featured the machine's versatility. It was not long after before 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 United States, was the very first to mount its crane on crawler tracks in the 1920s. It described the new machinery 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 uses.
The Speedcrane
The Moore Speedcrane, developed by Charles and Ray Moore of Chicago, Illinois was one of the first attempts to copy the rails for cranes. Manufactured in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Speedcrane was a wheel-mounted, steam-powered, 15 ton crane. During 1925, a company called 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 manufacture it and go into business.