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 locations without the need for much set up. Due to their enormous size and weight, crawler cranes are rather expensive and even hard to transport from one location to another. The crawler's tracks provide the machine stability and allow the crane to work without utilizing outriggers, although, there are some units that do use outriggers. Also, the tracks provide the equipment's movement.
Early Mobile Cranes
Initially, the first mobile cranes were mounted to train cars and move along specially 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 and the construction industry. 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
Around the 1920s, Northwest Engineering, a crane manufacturer in the USA, mounted its very first crane on crawler tracks. It described the new machinery 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 uses.
The Speedcrane
Developed by Charles and Ray Moore of Chicago, Illinois; the Moore Speedcrane was among 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 1925, a company called 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 in order to manufacture it and go into business.