Crawler Crane
The mobile crawler crane is particular crane made 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 much set up. Due to their huge weight and size, crawler cranes are are hard to transport from one site to another and are fairly expensive. The crawler's tracks offer stability to the equipment and enable the crane to work without the use of outriggers, however, there are some units which do utilize outriggers. In addition, the tracks provide the movement of the equipment.
Early Mobile Cranes
Originally, the first mobile cranes were mounted to train cars and move along specifically designed short rail lines. When the 20th century arrived, the crawler tractor changed and this brought the introduction of crawler tracks to the agricultural industry and the construction industry. Not long after, the crawler tracks were adopted by excavators and this further featured the versatility of the machine. It was not long after before manufacturers of cranes decided that the crawler track market was a safe bet.
The Very First Crawler Crane
Northwest Engineering, a crane manufacturer in the United States, was the very first to mount its crane on crawler tracks during 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 preferred means of traction for heavy crane operations.
The Speedcrane
Developed by Ray and Charles Moore of Chicago, Illinois; the Moore Speedcrane was one of the first to attempt to replicate rail lines 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 tracked crane's marketability and potential. They decided to team up with the Moore brothers so as to manufacture it and go into business.