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. As this crane is self-propelled, it could move around particular work locations without the need for a lot of set up. Because of their huge weight and size, crawler cranes are are difficult to transport from one site to another and are fairly costly. The crawler's tracks offer stability to the equipment and enable the crane to work without using outriggers, although, there are some units which do utilize outriggers. Also, 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 specially constructed for the project. When the 20th century arrived, the crawler tractor evolved and this brought the introduction of crawler tracks to the construction business as well as the agricultural industry. Not long after, the crawler tracks were adopted by excavators and this further showcased the equipment's versatility. It was not long after before crane manufacturers decided that the crawler track market was a safe bet.
The First Crawler Crane
Northwest Engineering, a crane company within the USA, was the very first to mount its crane on crawler tracks in the 1920s. It described the new machine 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
Developed by Charles and Ray Moore of Chicago, Illinois; the Moore Speedcrane was among the first to attempt to copy rail lines for cranes. Manufactured within Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Speedcrane was 15 ton, steam-powered, wheel-mounted crane. In the year 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 so as to manufacture it and go into business.