Crawler Crane
The crawler crane is a particular type of mobile crane which is available with either a lattice boom or a telescopic boom which moves upon crawler tracks. Because this unit is a self-propelled crane, it could move around a jobsite and completing jobs without a lot of set-up. Because of their enormous weight and size, crawler cranes are are hard to transport from one site to another and are fairly costly. The crawler's tracks provide the machine stability and allow the crane to work without utilizing outriggers, although, there are several units that do utilize outriggers. Also, the tracks provide the movement of the equipment.
Early Mobile Cranes
Initially, the very first mobile cranes were mounted to train cars and move along specially designed short rail lines. Once the 20th century arrived, the crawler tractor changed and this brought the introduction of crawler tracks to the construction industry and the agricultural business. Not long after, the crawler tracks were adopted by excavators and this further featured the versatility of the equipment. It was not long after before manufacturers of cranes decided that the crawler track market was a safe bet.
The 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 machine as a "locomotive crane, independent of tracks and moveable under its own power." By the mid-1920s, crawler tracks had become the chosen means of traction for heavy crane operations.
The Speedcrane
The Moore Speedcrane, developed by Charles and Ray Moore of Chicago, Illinois was among the first attempts to replicate the rails for cranes. Made within Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Speedcrane was 15 ton, steam-powered, wheel-mounted crane. In 1925, a company called 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 to be able to produce it and go into business.