Rail disaster relic found in Doncaster school cupboard goes on public display
A relic from a rail disaster which claimed 12 lives more than 100 years has gone on public display after being found in a cupboard at a Doncaster school.
A piece of a train carriage from the crash – which happened near to Pontypridd in Wales in 1911 - has made its way from Doncaster to Rhondda Heritage Park Museum.
The louvre ventilator, which would have let air in and out of the train carriage, is on display as part of an major exhibition in the country.
The object was found in a cupboard at Hall Cross Academy and bears the inscription “A relic from the TVR collision at Hopkinstown, which occurred January 23, 1911: J Morris” and is now in the care of the Doncaster Grammar School Railway Collection Trust.
Over 110 years ago, in January 1911, a passenger train travelling from Treherbert to Cardiff was involved in a collision with a mineral train carrying 30-40 tonnes of coal from the Lewis Merthyr Colliery - now home to the Welsh Coal Mining Experience at Rhondda Heritage Park Museum.
Eleven people – although the official report stated 12 - were killed in the disaster, including local councillors and industrial stalwarts who were on their way to the South Wales Miners’ Federation Executive Council in Cardiff.
Hundreds more were injured.
The disaster happened during an important time in history in Rhondda Cynon Taf as the Tonypandy riots were still ongoing and there was unrest in the area.
The Miners’ Federation meeting many of those on the train were due to attend would have been a significant event as the industrial action continued.
In fact, officers from London’s Metropolitan Police, in the area due to the riots, were some of the first to arrive at the scene of the train crash, which was likely caused by human error.
Coun Ann Crimmings, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Leisure, said: “It’s a mystery to think how an artefact from the Hopkinstown Train Disaster of 1911 ended up in a cupboard at a school in the north of England.
“We are extremely grateful to the Doncaster Grammar School Railway Collection Trust for loaning us this item, so we can place it on display as part of our amazing, interactive exhibition at Rhondda Heritage Park Museum.
“It’s a great way for our visitors to see even more of our history brought to life at this award-winning attraction.”
The louvre ventilator which was found all those years later has been loaned to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Heritage Service and is likely to remain in Wales to be seen for a year.
The object is loaned from the collection owned by the Doncaster Grammar School Railway Trust. They began collecting after the Second World War and grew to become one of the largest private collections of railway memorabilia in the UK.
It was discovered during the removal of the collection from what was the Grammar School (now Hall Cross Academy) and into the custodianship of Heritage Doncaster (Doncaster Council).