Link Belt LS7400

Let us return to the Luber Homes auction held last month and marvel at the lump of steel that is this 1978 Link Belt LS-7400. As I understand this is one of the largest Link Belt machines of it’s era. Powered by a 12V71 Detroit the LS-7400 represented the serious attempt to make an all hydraulic powered excavator in the face of growing competition from Japanese nameplates. For decades this machine sat at the corner of the Luber property and was highly visible from I-690 thanks to its size and traditional LB paint scheme. For sometime the cab had been wrapped in a tattered blue tarp that did little to keep out the elements. On the day of the auction I was surprised to find that this machine actually ran, or at leas the engine was capable of idle. While I was onsite no one was brave (or foolish) enough to attempt a test run on the boom or tracks. Never the less it sold for around 4,500 dollars and since been removed from the property. Passing by the lot the other weekend it was strange to see the entire parcel devoid of equipment except for one sorry looking Drott all terrain crane that was in the process of being dismantled for transport.