SUNBURY, Pa. — After the last train car from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus rolled through town on Tuesday afternoon, Sue Duttinger, 60, of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, sighed.

“It’s so sad,” she said.

That was the sentiment shared by the dozens of people who dotted the streets alongside the tracks in Sunbury, waiting to watch the train pass through for the final time.

The circus announced in January that it will close after 147 years. The final performances will be at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7, and at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, on May 21.

Despite a longer run than most, the show fell prey to high operating costs and declining ticket sales after the retirement of the circus’ famed performing elephants. 

The circus sunset the elephant act in May of 2016, following decades of lawsuits, protests and shifting public opinion about animal rights, but said without the elephants as a draw, the show can no longer go on. 

For Frank Jurgill, 38, of Aristes, Pennsylvania, an avid train spotter, Tuesday was his first and last time to see the circus train.

“It’s sad. I’m near 40 and planning on going to see the circus this weekend, and I’m looking forward to it. I’m just a big kid,” he said.

People did not know the train’s exact schedule, so many waited along the tracks for hours. Billie Yost, 67, of Sunbury, started waiting for the train at 6:30 a.m. and was there until it finally rolled through town after 2 p.m.

“It’s sad. It’s been 100 and some years, and this is the last. They’re going home forever,” he said. 

With her cell phone in hand, Duttinger recorded the train to share with her grandchildren.

“I’ve been coming to see the train since I was a kid, and I don’t want to miss the last run,” she said.

Engle writes for the Sunbury, Pa. Daily Item.