Crawler Crane
The crawler crane is a specific kind of mobile crane which is offered with either a lattice boom or a telescopic boom which moves upon crawler tracks. As this model is a self-propelled crane, it could move around a jobsite and completing tasks without much set-up. Because of their huge size and weight, crawler cranes are are hard to transport from one place to another and are fairly costly. The crawler's tracks provide the equipment stability and allow the crane to work without the use of outriggers, although, there are several units that do use outriggers. Additionally, the tracks provide the machine's movement.
Early Mobile Cranes
Initially, the first mobile cranes were mounted to train cars and move along specially designed short rail lines. Once 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 business. 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 Very First Crawler Crane
In the 1920s, Northwest Engineering, a crane company within the United States, 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 chosen means of traction for heavy crane operations.
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 in 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 in order to manufacture it and go into business.