This track mucking machine dates to the 1960s and was used by Union Carbide Corporation at the nearby Pine Creek Tungsten mine 20 miles northwest of Bishop. During World War II and for some years afterward, that mine was the largest producer of tungsten in the world. Originally made in Sweden, the machine ran on rail tracks, was powered by pressurized air, and was operated by one miner. Its primary purpose was to scoop up ore and rock that had been dynamited at the heading of the tunnel and dump the loose debris into ore carts, saving miners the backbreaking work of shoveling excavated material into carts for removal from the mine for processing or waste storage.