How a train conductor saved a graduate student from potential danger

This story is part of the My Unsung Hero series, from the Hidden Brain team. It features stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else.

About 15 years ago, Ellen Wyoming DeLoy was in graduate school in Portland, Ore. She regularly used the city’s light rail system to commute to and from her classes. One night, on her way home, she was one of just a few people on the train.

When she arrived at her stop, she exited the train and started heading up the stairway that led to street level.

“And as I’m ascending the steps, the train — which usually just does a short ring to indicate that [it] is about to depart the station — started to do a really violent, persistent, ongoing ring,” Wyoming DeLoy said. “As if someone were banging a doorbell 20 times in a row.”

Startled by the unexpected sound, Wyoming DeLoy turned around to see two things. The first was the train conductor looking at her with an intense sense of urgency in his eyes. The other was a man who had apparently been following closely behind her but was now running in the other direction.

“I don’t know what would have happened that night if the train driver hadn’t caught my attention. But somebody was pursuing me for whatever, probably not good intention,” she said.

Wyoming DeLoy made it home safely that night, rattled and grateful.

“I just remembered thinking, what a gift. What a gift to have had this person pause just long enough to notice that this didn’t look quite right. I’ve always thought about that train conductor and how, one evening, he helped save a passenger, someone in his community. And he made it safer for me, so I really thank him.”

My Unsung Hero is also a podcast — new episodes are released every Tuesday. To share the story of your unsung hero with the Hidden Brain team, record a voice memo on your phone and send it to [email protected].