Crawler Crane
The crawler crane is a specific type of mobile crane which is offered with either a telescopic boom or a lattice boom that moves upon crawler tracks. As this model is a self-propelled crane, it could move around a jobsite and accomplishing jobs without much set-up. Due to their huge weight and size, crawler cranes are are difficult to transport from one location to another and are fairly costly. The crawler's tracks offer the machinery stability and enable the crane to work without using outriggers, although, there are several units which do use outriggers. In addition, the tracks provide the movement of the machine.
Early Mobile Cranes
Originally, the first mobile cranes were mounted to train cars and move along specifically designed 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, the crawler tracks were adopted by excavators and this further showcased the versatility of the machinery. It was not long after before crane companies decided that the crawler track market was a safe bet.
The First Crawler Crane
Around the 1920s, Northwest Engineering, a crane manufacturer within the United States, mounted its first crane on crawler tracks. It described the new equipment 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 Ray and Charles Moore of Chicago, Illinois; the Moore Speedcrane was amongst the first to attempt to replicate 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 known 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 produce it and go into business.