The Boy Hero

Commuters who disembarked at the Wellesley station from a Boston and Albany train on Monday October 5,1931 were unaware that their lives had been spared because of the quick action of a 10-year old Wellesley boy.

At 6:30 pm,Stationmaster Frank Gould checked his watch and noted that a train was due in less than three minutes.Then he looked up and saw a young boy running toward him.The youngster was shouting something but Gould was unable to understand the boy's message.

Out of breath and gasping for air Antonio Maccini had difficulty articulating his reason for running more than 200 yards toward Gould.But finally he was able to blurt put that a large cart was blocking the way of the approaching train.He told Gould that he had tried to push the cart out of the way but immediately realized that it was too heavy for him to budge.

As Antonio was gasping out his message Gould looked up the track and saw the large cart.It was just around the bend out of sight from the approaching train.That meant that the engineer would have no way of avoiding an accident because he would strike the cart as soon as he rounded the bend.

Gould glanced at his watch again and realized that less than two minutes were left before the train would arrive.As if to confirm this,he could hear the sound of the train in the near distance.Gould shouted to the two men who happened to be standing nearby to follow him quickly.Not knowing what the trouble was but noting that Gould was in a panic, Norman Severson of Wellesley and Edward Clamin of Natick ran after the stationmaster without hesitation.

Although he was very young and hardly brawny enough to be of any major assistance,Antonio nevertheless joined the three men as they swiftly ran up the 200 yards of railroad track.

When they reached the cart they immediately realized that its size and weight made moving it a virtually insurmountable task.

It was later established that it weighed over 800 lbs.and was awkward in shape.It also was later established that it had fallen from a westbound freight train which had been carrying circus equipment.

But any hesitancy the men might have had was quickly dispelled when they heard the rumble of the approaching train and realized that it was just around the curve.

If they did not immediately figure out how to move the cart, not only would the train hit it and almost certainly cause a derailment but their own lives would be ended by the impact of the crash.

So summoning their collective reserve strength the three men and the boy began somehow to push the cart out of the way.

As if to emphasize the urgency of their situation,the light from the approaching train fell upon them as they somehow completed their task. Less than 30 seconds elapsed between the time the cart was moved and the arrival of the train.

Unaware of what the men and the boy had just accomplished,the train engineer glanced curiously at the four but gave them no more attention as he prepared to halt the train at the Wellesley station

Only later,after he had heard the full story of the heroic deed,did the engineer fully realize the importance of what the foursome had accomplished and the possible consequences if they hadn't acted swiftly and decisively that evening.

But he and some of the commuters reserved special thanks to Antonio because without his speedy response to the emergency,many commuters would have been injured or killed that autumn day in 1931.