WEST SUNBURY - The model cranes Dale Sutton builds lift more than small loads - they also lift his spirits during the long winter months.

Sutton, of West Sunbury, has been building the models since 2001, a few years after he was forced to retire. The 65-year-old says he'd still be driving a truck if his heart condition hadn't stopped him.

Since sitting still wasn't in the cards as far as Sutton was concerned, he decided to build models. But instead of following a kit, he uses his mind as a guide.

As a truck driver, Sutton spent a fair amount of time traveling in and out of strip mines. Before that, he worked in the mines running a bulldozer, high lift, drill and other equipment. Since 2001, he's been building each piece of equipment he remembers.

The 20 models that decorate his house range in size from 6 inches to 4 feet high. The time invested is hard to estimate, said Sutton, since he works at each model gradually. He estimated one of the bigger models took him about 3½ months.

Each adds up to a project that helps Sutton get through retirement and the long winters in West Sunbury.

"The doctor said keep moving," Sutton said.

The projects are mostly made of wood, with each piece formed perfectly. Store sales and gifts from his children allowed Sutton to stock his workshop quickly once he started building. The workshop became the next project, since he crowded himself out of his shed, which originally served as a shop.

Each model is operational and includes the inner workings of the equipment and details like glass windows and "oil cans" scattered around. The cans are actually silicone cylinders that come in pill bottles.

Sutton also replicates truck and equipment parts with household items like golf tees, coffee stirrers and Popsicle sticks.

Sometimes Sutton uses pictures to help his imagination, especially for the items that predate him. One such item was a steam-powered strip shovel like those used in mines in the 1920s.

"It ran on coal, but they learned that it took more coal to run it than it collected," he said.

One project Sutton plans to undertake is a 1917 Indiana Model T truck. It will be a stretch from his heavy equipment background, but he said he doesn't see it as too much of a challenge.

One challenge is keeping grandchildren away from the models, according to Sutton's wife, Martha.

"We have three grandsons, I still hold my breath when they come over," she said. The boys patiently wait for their grandfather to show them how the models work and haven't hurt them so far, Martha added.

Sutton considered giving some of the models to his three sons as gifts, since each of them drives trucks as well. But their wives objected to dusting the delicate pieces, said Martha.

Sutton has been offered as much as $1,000 for one of his models, but said he hasn't considered selling them. He sold a few homemade planters, birdhouses and bird and squirrel feeders, however.

"I wish I'd had these when I was a kid," said Sutton. His interest in mining was there early, especially since it was like a family business. But his equipment was primitive.

"When I was a little kid, I'd play in the dirt and pretend I was running a mine," he said. "I'd use a hammer and tin can to dig."

Sutton said his brother helped him get into the model-building business as well. His brother built clocks and had many of the tools and parts he needed to get started. At that time, Sutton planned to build a model of the farm where he grew up. Figuring the farm would take up too much room, his focus switched to the heavy equipment.

"Now I just can't stop," he said.