Big Bananas

If you've been reading the carriage building guide (you'll find a link over on the right if you haven't seen it yet) you'll have seen me mentioning the way the laminated styrene carriage sides have a tendency to curl up, due to the action of the solvent, and how when you join the sides and ends together for the first time it looks more like two bananas placed back to back rather than a railway carriage.

Until now I've not posted a picture of this, so I made sure I took a snap when my latest carriage (FR Barn 105 for a Boston Largs Works client)reached this stage so that you could see what I was on about.



It looks rather catastrophic but it's not a big problem. In fact, so long as they bend inwards, it's a help. Once the floor is inserted (see below) it keeps the sides nice and straight, and the roof structure will do the same job at the top.