The West Somerset Railway Association plans to build a turning triangle on land it owns adjacent to the Norton Fitzwarren junction with the main line are about to reach another significant milestone with the imminent start of construction on site.

Association Chairman Humphrey Davies has thanked Association members and others who have been generous with their support and said "This project is a win for rail and for the environment. The material we need for the triangle will be recycled aggregate, delivered by rail, with no impact on local roads. The project will allow us to handle more charter trains from the main line network, as well as to turn our own engines, and is an important milestone in the development of the railway. I urge visitors to keep clear of the fenced area, and of course never to walk on or near the railway line. The best way to see the site is from the train."

Recent work has already seen the entire curve on the existing West Somerset line relaid with concrete sleepers and deep ballast, an overflow drainage culvert installed beneath Norton Bridge and significant areas of undergrowth cleared. Now contractors will move in shortly to begin preparation work to enable the High Output Ballast Cleaner to commence deliveries of aggregate for the construction of the embankments - due to start in late December.

The reconstruction of Taunton's Fairwater Yard has been completed - it will be used as an operating base for the trains when they arrive in the West Country, and parts of the connection onto the West Somerset railway are shortly due to be relaid to take the increased level of traffic which will be generated.

The preparatory works about to commence on the Association's site will see the construction of an offloading area on the old down Minehead formation, stockpile foundations for aggregate, top soil stripped from the site and the formation of a dry pond required as part of the flood management system agreed with the Environment Agency. The ditch alongside the existing line will be culverted under the new formation and diverted clear of the proposed offloading area to minimise any risk of blocking drainage during the winter months in an area already susceptible to high water flows.

Two trial aggregate deliveries will be made by the HOBC in November to familiarise West Somerset Railway, Contractors and the train's staff with the operating arrangements and to provide aggregate for surfacing plant and stockpile areas.

At the completion of this first phase of the works the site will be ready to receive regular aggregate deliveries which are due to commence in late December or early January. This aggregate supply will be sorted and stockpiled for use in constructing the trackbed formation, providing ballast for use elsewhere on the WSR or indeed sold for other uses if a surplus is generated. Top soil surplus to the recovering of embankments will also be stockpiled for eventual re-sale.

As much of the necessary paperwork has already been completed it is hoped Contractors may be able to mobilise onto site before the railway's gala on 7/8 October thus allowing passengers on the inaugural Taunton - Bishops Lydeard shuttles and the Autotrain a close view of the work.

The triangle will diverge from the existing West Somerset Line from the end of the siding laid last winter at the new Allerford Junction. It will run across the fields before splitting and passing either side of a main 400kV pylon. The two triangle arms will then join the old Barnstaple line formation, one arm running up toward the dismantled Allerford Lane Bridge, whilst the second runs back toward Taunton before ending in a headshunt.

Track to lay this triangle, which will see its first use by the HOBC during construction of later parts of the formation, will be supplied as part of the agreement and be laid by Contractors on behalf of the Association. Progress on track laying will be dependant on several factors including the rate at which the formation is built and settles, the rate of track deliveries and the availability of Contractors to lay it. However the Association is hopeful good progress can be made and that sufficient track can be laid to turn charter and West Somerset locomotives during the 2008 season.

Western Power Distribution are also due to alter the route of the existing 33kv overhead power line before work starts to construct the embankments in order to provide the necessary safe clearances.To achieve the remarkable rate of progress to date the project has relied heavily on close co-operation between the Association and the PLC and will continue to rely on both parties working together to operate the trains and construct the new facility. Considerable support and advice has also been received from Taunton Deane, Norton Parish Council, the Environment Agency and of course Network Rail and its partners.

We are keen to show off our achievements but Health & Safety is an important consideration on this project, as it is on any construction site, and access will not normally be available to the general public, which necessarily includes staff and volunteers of the West Somerset Railway unless in the course of a duty that requires them to be on the site. We would therefore ask that everyone respect this restriction in the interest of their own safety and that of others.