Crawler Crane
The crawler crane is a specific kind of mobile crane which is offered with either a telescopic boom or a lattice boom which moves upon crawler tracks. Because this model is a self-propelled crane, it could move around a jobsite and accomplishing tasks without much set-up. Because of their huge size and weight, crawler cranes are fairly pricey and even hard to transport from one site to another. The crawler's tracks provide the machine stability and enable the crane to function without the use of outriggers, although, there are several models that do utilize outriggers. Also, 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. 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, excavators adopted the crawler tracks and this further featured the versatility of the equipment. It was not long after when manufacturers of cranes decided that the crawler track market was a safe bet.
The First Crawler Crane
Northwest Engineering, a crane manufacturer in the USA, was the first to mount its crane on crawler tracks during the 1920s. 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 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. Made within Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Speedcrane was a wheel-mounted, steam-powered, 15 ton crane. In the year 1925, a company referred to 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.