Crawler Crane
The crawler crane is a specific type of mobile crane that is offered with either a telescopic boom or a lattice boom that moves upon crawler tracks. Since this model is a self-propelled crane, it is capable of moving around a jobsite and accomplishing jobs without much set-up. Due to their enormous weight and size, crawler cranes are are difficult to transport from one location to another and are rather costly. The crawler's tracks provide the equipment stability and allow the crane to work without the use of outriggers, although, there are some units that do use outriggers. Furthermore, the tracks provide the machine's movement.
Early Mobile Cranes
The first mobile cranes were originally mounted to train cars. They moved along short rail lines which were particularly built for the project. When the 20th century arrived, the crawler tractor changed 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 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 very first to mount its crane on crawler tracks in the 1920s. It described the new machine 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
The Moore Speedcrane, developed by Ray and Charles Moore of Chicago, Illinois was amongst the first attempts to copy the rails for cranes. Made within Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Speedcrane was 15 ton, wheel-mounted, steam-powered crane. In 1925, a company known as Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, from Manitowoc, Wisconsin recognized the tracked crane's potential and marketability. They decided to team up with the Moore brothers in order to manufacture it and go into business.