A Webster Bennett vertical borer was bought by Datum Engineering owner Tony Plant during an auction of machinery at Hillside in May, after the company was closed last year.
He said the machine was built in Coventry, England, in the 1970s, and was used to make railway wheels.
''It's like a lathe that stands upwards, rather than horizontally.''
The machine was in poor condition, but Mr Plant said he had spent the past month refurbishing it, and it was now ready to go back to work.
Many engineering firms in Dunedin had praised him for the refurbishment, because it was a small part of Dunedin's engineering history, given its connection to Hillside.
''A lot of the stuff from Hillside was cut up for scrap metal and sent off to the North Island.
''This is one of the few pieces from Hillside ... still in working order.''
Mr Plant said he was approached by the Taieri Gorge Railway to see if Datum Engineering could machine wheels which were formerly machined by Hillside Engineering.
Mr Plant bought the machine so he could help keep the railway company's trains going.
He believed the lathe was capable of machining large, heavy items of up to 2 tonnes, and he was looking for alternative work for the machine, other than making train wheels, to maximise its productivity.
