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Nice pictures of long-boomed American 900 Series crawler cranes. I have that American literature at home that has the picture on the right of the crane pouring concrete on the cover. The high-rise reinforced concrete building being constructed is 860-870 United Nations Plaza, a condominium on the East River in Manhattan, built in the 1960s. Back then, it was common to use a long boomed crawler with jib for this kind of work. A hopper would be placed at the edge of the floor slab being poured, that a worker would empty the concrete bucket lifted by the crane into, and workers using buggies would fill them from the hopper and transport the concrete to the area of the slab being poured.
Evolution in the method of pouring high-rise structures in NYC occurred, the long boom with jib gave way to the crawler tower crane which gave better coverage of the building, the crawler tower crane gave way to the present climbing tower cranes currently used. The bucket method of concrete placing is steadily being supplanted by pumping: most new high-rise and supertall buildings going up in NYC have their concrete being pumped. In dense areas of the city, a climbing tower crane can be installed within the building, or immediately adjacent, and take up much less space on the street than the crawler cranes of the past. But it was always a fun sight for me to see a big crawler American or Manitowoc crane on a high-rise job back in the day in NYC!!
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Thanks Mariot for the additional info. Have seen a lot of American's but this particular set up was not very common in Europe. Must have been impressive seeing those extreme long booms with buckets concrete going up , must have been good operators because it acts like long fishing rod . You are right about the fact it's coming from a brochure , second picture is from the back. I was scanning some old brochures but i liked these so much i made some separate pictures from it. Here is another one. Eef 
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eef7260, I've always liked American crawler cranes. There was something about their looks, especially when fitted with a long slender boom. I saw quite a few of them back in the 60s and 70s. Here's a small picture evolution of cranes in NYC. Here's an old picture I took in Brooklyn, on a water treatment plant job.  Castaldo Equipment Company had the yellow and red painted Americans, Gerosa had the green, and red painted Manitowocs during the high-rise building boom of 60s. Another picture taken of an American tower crane working in Queens. I took this one sometime in the 1980s. This crane was also owned by Castaldo.  Now, a lot of crane work is done using Favco Favelle climbing tower cranes, like this one, taken in Lower Manhattan:  I wish someone would come out with a 1:50 scale model of one of those Favco cranes.
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Charles V. Castaldo Construction Inc. and a related Charles V. Castaldo Equipment corporation were significant owners of American long boom crawlers. The two fifty foot tapered boom sections used on the long boom Americans were commonly called the Castaldo tip or boom in reference to its development for them. I am not sure if they were a general contractor that owned a significant fleet, or more of a rental house. This one or two sheeve tip accepted the American 100 foot tubular jib. The main booms were generally 200 feet or 250 feet plus the 100 foot tapered boom tip inner and outer section. These were available on the 900 series Americans carrying four digit model numbers. The 9260 or 9280 was developed for Castaldo and supposedly had variations in the carbody to allow the self erection of the long booms. I do remember seeing a large Castaldo American crawler in New York adjacent to Carnegie Hall in I believe 1984.
Gerosa on the other hand was a trucking, rigging and crane rental operation. They ran Manitowoc crawlers in long boom and then tower configurations. Interestingly, Gerosa used 900 series Americans for their large truck cranes. Mc Hugh did rent some of their large Americans in New York but would only work for Gerosa or American Bridge. This was due to labor issues. Gerosa's acquisition of the American truck cranes may have been as a result of their experience with the Mc Hugh machines. The Mc Hugh relationship with American bridge covered a significant portion of the United States. The Gerosa crawler fleet when liquidated when to or formed what became the Lomma New York Crane fleet just as their heavy trucking went to Marino and then their purchaser.
These long-boom machines briefly competed with the gin poles and derricks in low to mid rise steel erection and definitely in low to mid rise concrete construction. The Australian Favco made its first appearance in very tall steel erection at the original World Trade Center. The Link Belt "TG" series was the next popular luffing tower crane in the US. The designs were later sold to Cornell in New Jersey, US. These machines with their high line speeds and pull revolutionized the steel erection and poured structural concrete industries. It was more evident in New York than other markets due to both regulations requiring that the jib not go over adjacent private space and labor costs requiring higher productivity. The capacity ratings on these machines far exceeded those of the then emerging flat top and hammer head cranes. Most of these top out at 35 to 44 tons a minimum radius. While some of the luffing Link Belts whet to 230 tons though the smaller 190 ton TG1900 was very popular in New York. These would handle five yard buckets as opposed to a 1 to 2 yard bucket commonly used. It is interesting to note that a number of the Link Belt's were owned by Jake's Crane and Rigging in Las Vegas, NV and were used to construct a number of the higher rise casinos.
It is interesting to note as an aside that these long boom American's were the only crawlers I've seen used by American Bridge during this period other than Manitowocs. Their competitor Bethlehem used Lima crawlers and have some of the 1200T (125 ton) Lima truck cranes in the early 70's. One of these was used at Madison Square Garden in new York when it replaced the old Penn Station.
I personally loved these long boom Americans on both crawler and truck bases.
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mariot wrote:Nice pictures of long-boomed American 900 Series crawler cranes. I have that American literature at home that has the picture on the right of the crane pouring concrete on the cover. The high-rise reinforced concrete building being constructed is 860-870 United Nations Plaza, a condominium on the East River in Manhattan, built in the 1960s. Back then, it was common to use a long boomed crawler with jib for this kind of work. A hopper would be placed at the edge of the floor slab being poured, that a worker would empty the concrete bucket lifted by the crane into, and workers using buggies would fill them from the hopper and transport the concrete to the area of the slab being poured.
Evolution in the method of pouring high-rise structures in NYC occurred, the long boom with jib gave way to the crawler tower crane which gave better coverage of the building, the crawler tower crane gave way to the present climbing tower cranes currently used. The bucket method of concrete placing is steadily being supplanted by pumping: most new high-rise and supertall buildings going up in NYC have their concrete being pumped. In dense areas of the city, a climbing tower crane can be installed within the building, or immediately adjacent, and take up much less space on the street than the crawler cranes of the past. But it was always a fun sight for me to see a big crawler American or Manitowoc crane on a high-rise job back in the day in NYC!! It is not that long ago that one could find 4 or 5 4100W tower canes in Manhattan, usually sitting on a load of mats.  kerst
 http://forums.dhsdiecast.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1096251
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Thanks to both DC Craneman and Kerst for chiming in on this subject. It certainly was great to have the additional information on the two legendary crane outfits in NYC who ran the long-boom cranes. Kerst properly notes that Lomma's Manitowocs still make an appearance here and there around the city.
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Great write up. I really appreiciate you sharing the history of cranes for all of us
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Great info and pictures! Love it!
That first shot of the 860-870 United Nations Plaza just floors me. They have 36 floors built, and not a single brick or piece of glass on the exterior. Lots of wasted time back then.
Still, great to see the old workhorse crawlers.
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Hi Guys Thanks for everybody's great contribution to this topic really enjoyed reading it. To Mariot , thanks a lot for that picture from the Castaldo in tower version , never seen Castaldo crane in tower version. It seems to me that there were a lot more 4100 in tower version than American's. Is there a reason the Manitowoc was more popular in tower version or was American a bit to late on the market with this version ?? DC Craneman , thanks a lot for your very detailed info but i think i need correct one little detail. Quote: These were available on the 900 series Americans carrying four digit model numbers I think the 999c was ready for the HL boom as well. Like i said , everyone thanks a lot for your input it's a pleasure reading about this piece of history Eef  American scan107 by eef 7260, on Flickr
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From long to short some excavator's , not so often seen as the crane. The 575 is an very early version i guess because it has no a-frame. Enjoy the pictures. Eef  American scan115 by eef 7260, on Flickr  American scan102 by eef 7260, on Flickr
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JohnGalt wrote:Great info and pictures! Love it!
That first shot of the 860-870 United Nations Plaza just floors me. They have 36 floors built, and not a single brick or piece of glass on the exterior. Lots of wasted time back then.
Still, great to see the old workhorse crawlers. John, In the picture of 860-870 United Plaza under construction featuring the long-boom 900 Series crawler, it is interesting to note that with 36 floors built as shown, ultimately the two towers would rise to 40 floors constructed using a conventional crane, such as it was done in the 1960s. Those buildings started construction in the mid 60s, done in 1965. Today such a building would go up using a climbing tower crane. Other observations to be made are the total lack of safety netting on the open slabs or near the top around the building, or temporary railing at the top slab where the pour is being made, as shown in this picture I took in 2008 of Silver Towers going up to 60 stories, using climbing tower cranes.  Anyhow, back on topic. Here's a nice American crawler crane with a hammerhead boom tip that I caught a few years ago, taking a rest on a barge on the Hudson River.  Those American crawlers, cranes and excavators (cable shovels and backhoe) were handsome machines.
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The heavy lift hammerhead boom tip is also know as the Mc Hugh tip as it was originally developed for their large Americans.
Many years ago I knew Michael Pregont who was the founder of Crane and Machinery Inc. in the Chicago, IL suburbs. Some of the former American Hoist folks that I've run into since indicated that for a number of years, he was the application engineer on those American excavators. I believe that they were referring to the cable machines.
The American tower attachments seem no where as common as the Manitowocs. Though they did have a number with Jake's in Las Vegas at one point.
On model numbers, American used both three and four digit numbers on their crawlers. The three digit machines are smaller in tonnage (65 tons for smallest 900 series to 110 tons for the 999C) and from the detail literature I've seen carried angle chord boom as standard. Most of this series was introduced in the 1970's excluding the 998 in 1968. The 9299 is the first of the four digit machines and was introduced in 1964 at 165 tons. With the optional 92H boom it reached 300 feet on its main boom. The 9260 (125 tons in 1967), 9270 (136 tons in 1968) and the 9280 (150 tons in 1968) followed. The 9310 was introduced in 1972 and was followed by the 9320 in 1984. The 9280 is the most unique. My references indicate that 350 feet of boom was standard.
This would indicate to me that it was a down rated 9299 but carried the 9299's optional 92H boom standard with an additional 50 foot section added. I've head that this was a machine developed for Castaldo and used a different and unique carbody to allow the self erection of a long boom. The 9280 was discontinued in 1973 which would make sense as the 9310 at 225 tons offered the same reach with a stronger chart.
There was a major change in 900 models in the mid 1980's with many of the three digit models being discontinued. The 9270 was discontinued. The 113 ton 9220 briefly appeared for several years and the 9225 at 150 tons appeared. While rated the same as the 9280, it carried a shorter boom as standard. I believe that this was an effort to gain duty cycle ratings more competitive with the 3900W and 4000 series Manitowocs. The 9299, 9210 and 9320 were the leading machines and survived until American's end with the 9299 and 9310 including 9310A having the largest production numbers. the 9310A overlapped the production of the 9310 from 1985 to 1991 and then continued on alone. This later 9310 had about an additonal 50 tons of operating weight and offered a longer standard main boom.
The long reach booms seemed most popular in the New York market and to a lesser extend in Chicago. The Manitowocs were owned by Donald B. McNeil and the Americans by Central Contractors Service though I never saw an American tower machine in Chicago. The American's were also popular with Jake's in Las Vegas as the rise of the super high rise casino and hotel gained popularity.
I wish I knew more about when the tower attachments were introduced.
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This is interesting here are 2 pictures i took long time ago ( 20 years or so ) at a trading company in Holland. Look at these colors , looks a lot like Castaldo Yellow upper , red counterweight with 2 white stripes , white roof. Ok the boom is black instead of red but that can be an other boom. Have a look at this topic second post from Mariot , exact the same colors. CastaldoThat would be strange , i have been taken pictures from an Castoldo crane and find out about it 20 years later or so. So the question is did Castaldo owned a 999 Eef  IMG_0027 by eef 7260, on Flickr  IMG_0025 by eef 7260, on Flickr
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many thanks for sharing these pictures of older machines, eef7260....'greatly appreciated!! 89cxsport, Where is that 25 excavator located??Anywhere close to the Canada border, by any chance? I'd like to find smoe old American hydraulic excavators in order to take pictures and measurements, in order to build scale models of them, that's why i am asking. Regards. Max.
Cat 245.....Now and Forever  I am looking for industrial auction brochures from Ritchie Bros, Miller & Miller, Forke Bros, First Team Auction, Max Rouse, etc from the 70's, 80's and 90's.I am a collector and heavy equipment enthusiast and these pamphlets are loaded with nice pictures of cleaned and freshly painted equipment.Thet don't have much value once the sale is over but they are a great help to me in preserving the memory of machines that are no longer being built.Please, help my hobby by looking in your old storage boxes and file folders for these old auction sale brochures.Your help is much appreciated.
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Max the model 25 excavator in located in Berryville VA, not close enough to you for your purpose.
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The Manitowocs and big Americans were at one time moved in a unit consisting of house, carbody, tracks, gantry and heel section in the metro New York area. New York has now outlawed this though it can still be done in New Jersey on some state roads. In more recent years this work was done by Mack Trailer, Malbros and Confortti. Malbros is out of business but one of the partners that purchased this firm from the Malanga family still apparently possesses the heavy tractor (Brutus) and its trailer. Mack Trailer has sold its big tractor and trailer and runs lighter tractors and trailers. Malbros and Mack moved the Lomma/New York Crane Manitowocs.
Likewise, New York City regulations now require that these machines be rebuilt to continue to work unless they are some of the last ones built.
The big Mack Trailer Autocar as well as its Rogers trailer are now in New Jersey. Likewise the predecessor Mack Trailer Autocar which I believe was owned by Slattery new and used to haul for Castaldo is in New Jersey with the same owner.
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Quote:I'd like to find smoe old American hydraulic excavators in order to take pictures and measurements, in order to build scale models of them, that's why i am asking. Hi Max , hope this helps a little Some nice high res pictures here , don't forget to use the zoom function under the photo. american 35 excavator Eef
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89cxsport wrote:Max the model 25 excavator in located in Berryville VA, not close enough to you for your purpose. Thanks anyway. EEF, I've found that one a while ago and it is already imn my picture bank. Thanks a lot anyway. Max.
Cat 245.....Now and Forever I am looking for industrial auction brochures from Ritchie Bros, Miller & Miller, Forke Bros, First Team Auction, Max Rouse, etc from the 70's, 80's and 90's.I am a collector and heavy equipment enthusiast and these pamphlets are loaded with nice pictures of cleaned and freshly painted equipment.Thet don't have much value once the sale is over but they are a great help to me in preserving the memory of machines that are no longer being built.Please, help my hobby by looking in your old storage boxes and file folders for these old auction sale brochures.Your help is much appreciated.
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