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. Since this crane is self-propelled, it could move around certain work sites without the need for much set up. Because of their enormous size and weight, crawler cranes are rather pricey and even difficult to transport from one place to another. The crawler's tracks provide stability to the equipment and allow the crane to function without the use of outriggers, although, there are several models which do use outriggers. What's more, the tracks provide the machine's movement.
Early Mobile Cranes
Originally, the very first mobile cranes were mounted to train cars and move along specifically made short rail lines. Once the 20th century arrived, the crawler tractor changed and this brought the introduction of crawler tracks to the agricultural industry as well as the construction business. Not long after, the crawler tracks were adopted by excavators and this further featured the equipment's versatility. It was not long after when crane manufacturers decided that the crawler track market was a safe bet.
The First Crawler Crane
Around the 1920s, Northwest Engineering, a crane company within the United States, mounted its first crane on crawler tracks. 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 operations.
The Speedcrane
Developed by Charles and Ray Moore of Chicago, Illinois; the Moore Speedcrane was one of the first to attempt to copy rail lines for cranes. Manufactured in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Speedcrane was a steam-powered, wheel-mounted, 15 ton crane. In 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 produce it and go into business.