Crawler Crane
The mobile crawler crane is specific crane designed with either a telescopic boom or a lattice boom. These move upon the crawlers tracks. Since this crane is self-propelled, it could move around particular work locations without the need for a lot of set up. Because of their enormous weight and size, crawler cranes are are difficult to transport from one site to another and are fairly expensive. The crawler's tracks provide stability to the machine and allow the crane to work without the use of outriggers, although, there are some units that do use outriggers. As well, the tracks provide the movement of the machinery.
Early Mobile Cranes
The first mobile cranes were initially 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 evolved and this brought the introduction of crawler tracks to the agricultural industry as well as the construction business. Not long after, the crawler tracks were adopted by excavators and this further featured the versatility of the machine. It was not long after when crane companies decided that the crawler track market was a safe bet.
The First Crawler Crane
Around the 1920s, Northwest Engineering, a crane manufacturer 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 mid-1920s, crawler tracks had become the preferred means of traction for heavy crane uses.
The Speedcrane
Developed by Ray and Charles Moore of Chicago, Illinois; the Moore Speedcrane was among the first to attempt to copy rail lines for cranes. Manufactured within Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Speedcrane was 15 ton, wheel-mounted, steam-powered crane. In the year 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 so as to produce it and go into business.