Crawler Crane
The mobile crawler crane is particular crane designed with either a telescopic boom or a lattice boom. These move upon the crawlers tracks. Since this crane is self-propelled, it can move around particular work sites without the need for a lot of set up. Due to their huge size and weight, crawler cranes are are hard to transport from one location to another and are fairly costly. The crawler's tracks offer stability to the machine and enable the crane to work without utilizing outriggers, however, there are some models that do use outriggers. As well, the tracks provide the equipment's movement.
Early Mobile Cranes
Initially, the very first mobile cranes were mounted to train cars and move along specially built short rail lines. Once the 20th century arrived, the crawler tractor evolved and this brought the introduction of crawler tracks to the agricultural business and the construction business. Not long after, excavators adopted the crawler tracks and this further showcased the machine's versatility. It was not long after when crane companies decided that the crawler track market was a safe bet.
The First Crawler Crane
Northwest Engineering, a crane company in the USA, 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 a steam-powered, wheel-mounted, 15 ton crane. In the year 1925, a company called 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 so as to manufacture it and go into business.