Crawler Crane
The mobile crawler crane is specific crane designed with either a lattice boom or a telescopic boom. These move upon the crawlers tracks. Since this crane is self-propelled, it could move around particular work locations without the need for much set up. Because of their huge size and weight, crawler cranes are are hard to transport from one site to another and are rather costly. The crawler's tracks provide the machinery stability and allow the crane to work without utilizing outriggers, however, there are some models that do use outriggers. Moreover, the tracks provide the machine's movement.
Early Mobile Cranes
Originally, the first mobile cranes were mounted to train cars and move along specifically made short rail lines. When the 20th century arrived, the crawler tractor evolved and this brought the introduction of crawler tracks to the agricultural business as well as the construction industry. Not long after, the crawler tracks were adopted by excavators and this further featured the equipment's versatility. It was not long after before manufacturers of cranes decided that the crawler track market was a safe bet.
The First Crawler Crane
Around the 1920s, Northwest Engineering, a crane company in the USA, mounted its very 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 middle part of the 1920s, crawler tracks had become the preferred means of traction for heavy crane operations.
The Speedcrane
The Moore Speedcrane, developed by Charles and Ray Moore of Chicago, Illinois was among the first attempts to replicate the rails for cranes. Made within Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Speedcrane was 15 ton, wheel-mounted, steam-powered crane. During 1925, a company known as Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, from Manitowoc, Wisconsin recognized the marketability and the potential of the tracked crane. They decided to team up with the Moore brothers in order to manufacture it and go into business.