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Pontypridd RFC

1876 establishments in WalesPontypridd RFCRugby clubs established in 1876Sport in Rhondda Cynon TafUse British English from October 2011
Welsh rugby union teams

Pontypridd Rugby Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Rygbi Pontypridd) are a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. They compete in the Indigo Group Premiership, which they won for four consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2015, and the Specsavers National Cup, which they have won on 6 occasions, with the most recent being in 2014. Established in 1876, Pontypridd RFC play their home games on the banks of the River Rhondda, at Sardis Road, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales, with their age-grade section playing at Taff Vale Park in Pontypridd, and Pontypridd High School Fields in nearby Cilfynydd. Pontypridd RFC experienced a successful period during the 1990s under head coach, Dennis John, referred to as the club's "Golden Age", and enjoyed further success between 2001 and 2003 with the appointment of head coach, Lynn Howells. The transition to Regional Rugby in Wales in 2003 saw the downgrading of Pontypridd to a semi-professional team, followed by financial difficulties for the club, and eventual demise of Pontypridd's "Celtic Warriors" region.Pontypridd RFC have since refinanced and restructured, and, despite a mooted stadium sale, continue to be regarded as a beacon for rugby in the south Wales Valleys.Pontypridd RFC have produced numerous players for the Wales national rugby union team and have long thrived on the 'unfashionable club' tag.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Pontypridd RFC (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Pontypridd RFC
Sardis Road,

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Latitude Longitude
N 51.60046 ° E -3.346571 °
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Sardis Road

Sardis Road
CF37 1HA
Wales, United Kingdom
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Pontypridd railway accident

On Monday 23 January 1911, a collision between a passenger train and a coal train on the Taff Vale Railway line at Hopkinstown, outside Pontypridd in Wales, resulted in the loss of eleven (twelve according to the official report) lives. The accident, also known as the Hopkinstown rail disaster or the Coke Ovens collision, occurred at 9:48 am, when the 09:10 passenger train from Treherbert to Cardiff, heading towards Pontypridd and carrying about 100 people, rounded the bend at Gyfeillion Lower signal box with a clear signal ahead. The train collided with a stationary coal train that was using the same line. The impact caused the underframe of the front carriage to rise up and pierce the carriage directly behind it.On 24 January a preliminary hearing was conducted at the New Inn Hotel in Pontypridd, where interviews were held and witness statements were taken. On the following Thursday a coroner's inquest was opened at Pontypridd Police Court. The inquest heard conflicting reports from signalmen Hutchings of the Gyfeillion Lower and Quick of the Rhondda Cutting Junction, the other signal box in control of the stretch of line where the accident took place. Due to lack of definite evidence an open verdict was returned; though the fireman of the coal train was censured for not alerting the signal box of the stationary train's position as he was required to do under Rule 55. The Board of Trade enquiry, subsequent to the inquest, concluded that Hutchings had not, in fact, given the "Train Entering Section" signal for the coal train after Quick had accepted it, and Quick had subsequently accepted the passenger train, having forgotten that he had accepted the coal train earlier. Hutchings was also criticised for not replacing his signals to "Danger" as soon as he was aware of the conflict – if he had done so, the driver of the passenger train would have had about 30 seconds to observe the danger signal, and, even if he had been unable to stop the train, its speed would have been greatly reduced and the collision much less severe. A contributory factor was the use of two-position block instruments, which did not have distinct "Line Blocked" and "Line Clear" indications. If a three-position instrument had been used, Hutchings would not have offered the passenger train forward (and Quick would not have accepted it) while the instrument was still showing "Line Clear" for the coal train.