Crawler Crane
The mobile crawler crane is particular crane made with either a lattice boom or a telescopic boom. These move upon the crawlers tracks. Because this crane is self-propelled, it can move around particular work sites without the need for much set up. Due to their enormous weight and size, crawler cranes are fairly costly and even hard to transport from one place to another. The crawler's tracks provide stability to the machine and enable the crane to work without utilizing outriggers, however, there are some units that do use outriggers. Additionally, the tracks provide the machine's movement.
Early Mobile Cranes
The first mobile cranes were initially mounted to train cars. They moved along short rail lines that were specifically built for the project. When the 20th century arrived, the crawler tractor evolved and this brought the introduction of crawler tracks to the agricultural industry and the construction industry. Not long after, excavators adopted the crawler tracks and this further featured 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 in the United States, was the first to mount its crane on crawler tracks in 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 preferred means of traction for heavy crane uses.
The Speedcrane
The Moore Speedcrane, developed by Charles and Ray Moore of Chicago, Illinois was one of the first attempts to copy the rails for cranes. Manufactured within Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Speedcrane was a steam-powered, wheel-mounted, 15 ton crane. In the year 1925, a company referred to as 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 to be able to produce it and go into business.