Crawler Crane
The crawler crane is a particular kind of mobile crane which is offered with either a lattice boom or a telescopic boom which moves upon crawler tracks. As this unit is a self-propelled crane, it could move around a jobsite and accomplishing jobs without much set-up. Because of their huge size and weight, crawler cranes are are difficult to transport from one site to another and are fairly costly. The crawler's tracks offer stability to the machinery and allow the crane to work without utilizing outriggers, although, there are some units which do use outriggers. Furthermore, the tracks provide the machine's movement.
Early Mobile Cranes
Initially, the first mobile cranes were mounted to train cars and move along specifically made short rail lines. Once the 20th century arrived, the crawler tractor changed and this brought the introduction of crawler tracks to the construction industry as well as 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 companies decided that the crawler track market was a safe bet.
The First Crawler Crane
In the 1920s, Northwest Engineering, a crane company in the United States, mounted its 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 middle part of the 1920s, crawler tracks had become the preferred means of traction for heavy crane operations.
The Speedcrane
The Moore Speedcrane, developed by Charles and Ray Moore of Chicago, Illinois was amongst the first attempts to copy the rails for cranes. Made within Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Speedcrane was a wheel-mounted, steam-powered, 15 ton crane. In 1925, a company called Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, from Manitowoc, Wisconsin recognized the tracked crane's marketability and potential. They decided to team up with the Moore brothers so as to produce it and go into business.