The Showpeople’s Winter Quarters, SWQ, recently announced receipt of the donation of a retired circus train car RBX #57 by Field Entertainment, Inc., parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®. The donated train car will be used as the SWQ’s new community center.
The SWQ is located on a beautiful, heavily-shaded three-acre site along U.S. Route 92 in Seffner, Florida. It can house up to 10 residences on permanent sites with water, electrical and septic hookups, as well as equipment storage and temporary RV parking. SWQ was converted into a retirement park in 2015 with financing from the Florida Community Loan Fund, FCLF, a financing entity with a 20+ year history of providing flexible capital and staff expertise across Florida, supporting affordable housing, community facilities that offer social services, and economic development projects.
SWQ was formed to offer affordable housing to traveling show personnel who have retired or whose travel has been halted for health or other reasons. The train car will be remodeled as a community center, complete with an activity space, kitchen, and laundry facilities.
Father Jerry Hogan, Circus Priest and Chairman of the organization that oversees SWQ, said, “We will give RBX Car #57 a ‘forever home’ at our retirement village, and use it as our new community center.”
Click here to view the press release.
Click here to read more about FCLF’s financing partnership with SWQ.
More articles about SWQ and the Train Car RBX #57:
Photo from Trains.com, Joe DeMike
The SWQ has also launched a $60,000 fundraising campaign to help finance the moving, installation, and remodeling of RBX #57; and to support upgrades to SWQ’s infrastructure systems, primarily water, electrical and septic hookups. To make a donation, visit GoFundMe.org at https://www.gofundme.com/showpeoples-community-center.
