Even though train operators nationally have the necessary skills in-house, they also know that focusing on their core competency of transporting goods (and people!) is what matters most.

To operate efficiently, rail systems depend on a high availability of their fleet, so a short turnaround time for refurbishment, repair and maintenance is non-negotiable, and rolling stock maintenance facilities are essential for these operations. 

This is where Hardman Brothers brings high-end value to our rolling stock partners with machining and design assist work in this area going back to the early 1990s.

Our One Stop Shop service, offering machining experience and refurbishment expertise, produces high strength components and parts which are optimised for long life. 

Highly developed supply-chain solutions is what rolling stock manufacturers and operators demand. Hardman Brothers’ rolling stock design-assist, machining, and refurbishment meets this demand.

Hardman Brothers currently machines train wheels (tyres) to the standards demanded by our rolling stock partners.

Our customers’ railway wheels are the result of precise engineering by our machining team whose experience is generations deep, making a significant difference in performance and reliability. And it’s that expertise that produces railway wheels of diverse sizes and configurations for varied applications.

At Hardman Brothers we are highly vigilant when it comes to railway wheel output, ensuring that each wheel meets the highest standards. At very high speeds, an irregular wheel can cause outsized loads on not only the wheel itself, but also the axle, bearing and suspension.

Pre-emptively avoiding this defect propagation, where a fault in one part of an assembly extends to other areas, compounding the impact and leading to suboptimal performance, is constantly front-of-mind for our engineering and machining team.

This drives the impeccable quality and resistance to wear of railway wheels which we build-to-print.

Current Work: As one of only (less than) a handful of Australian rail wheel CNC machining companies, an international consortium appointed Hardman Brothers to machine wheels to precise specifications for a passenger car project, servicing regional and country rail networks.

Hardman Brothers is incredibly proud to be participating in this important initiative, and has relished the opportunity to machine such an integral rollingstock part crucial to a complex passenger car design.

This work has now extended to two national rollingstock manufacturers relying on Hardman Brothers to resize wheels to suit the axles of its passenger railway vehicles, one in its home state of Victoria, but now also in Queensland.

Hardman Brothers’ experience in refurbishment and machining of passenger vehicle components has now extended into tram rollingstock too, with our client requiring us to refurbish tram bogies, in particular, to sleeve and realign the bores.

One of the most significant advancements in railway technology has been the deployment of New Generation Rollingstock, which offers an array of modern features designed to enhance rail passenger experience and address the limitations of aging rolling stock by incorporating cutting-edge technology and modern design principles.

Hardman Brothers has already positioned itself to be a reliable supply-chain partner to NGR train fleet manufacturers, providing reverse engineering, design assist and ‘build-to-print’ capability – working to exacting specifications for long-life results.

And it’s not just NGR train machined components we build-to-print, but for all versions of trams and trains, metro and regional alike.

Current Work: Door closing mechanisms are just one area we undertake on national NGR train projects – Hardman’s door-closing mechanisms component work, for instance, directly impacts enhanced passenger comfort, aiding advanced climate control systems for optimal comfort in all weather conditions and noise reduction technology for a quieter travel experience

Hardman Brothers’ capacity brings direct benefit to any NGR project to ensure quality control, shorter lead times with local availability, sovereign capability and support – it’s part of our collaboration process, we are reachable and we work together, face-to-face.

New Generation Rollingstock is a forward-looking solution which government and industry alike have recognised as a priority to replace and upgrade traditional rolling stock. 

The commencement of NGR passenger services has replaced an ageing fleet, increased fleet capacity, and improved the travel experience for commuters. 

It’s not just gears and machined components at Hardman Brothers. We understand the importance of maintaining the subcomponents of train signalling to ensure optimal signalling system performance – providing safety and thereby avoiding costly train delays and incidents.

Hardman Brothers’ machining capabilities can provide CNC precision turned parts for your automatic train control system that include rail fixings and point mechanisms for signalling systems. 

Specifically, this could include pins, bushes, special nuts and bolts, linkages, tow hitches, clevises, pins, track gauges, spools, spindles and rods for your mechanical signals.

Our experienced team can assist on all components of your rail network signalling construction projects, whether they be major undertakings on Australian rail infrastructure, or smaller stand-alone signalling commissions.