Back to Rick Waldroup Photography

Riding the Rails - August 2008-August 2009

In late August of 2008, I stared a new project, "Riding the Rails". When I first started shooting the people who ride the commuter trains in the Dallas - Fort Worth area, I thought it would be a quick study of how the masses are transported around a major metropolitan area. It became something much more. The more I rode the trains and visited the various train stations, I began to feel an emptiness, an almost desperate sense of loneliness. I began to sense that, somehow, I was completely cut off from humanity while being surrounded by multitudes of people. It was an eerie feeling to sense that you are all alone, when it was quite obvious that the reality of the situation was just the opposite.

I especially felt this emptiness and loneliness from the people who frequented the train stations and from those who rode the trains. But then, at times, people would let down their barriers and become human once again- a quick glance from a young man at a pretty girl, a loud round of laughter would escape from the back of a train, someone steals a small, knowing kiss, someone else shares their morning paper with a total stranger, a baby cries, I would hear soft murmers.... I would look around and realize that even though many of us may feel alone, we are never, ever really alone, are we?

Rick Waldroup - August 19, 2009