Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 4, 1995                   TAG: 9504040070
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NO. 1218'S FUTURE IS UNCERTAIN

V.R., Vinton

A: The Class A No.1218 - so big that it was hinged in the middle to handle tight curves in the track - is in storage in Birmingham, Ala.

The 1218 resided in Wasena Park before the flood of 1985 and was restored for excursion use in 1987. Its last trip through Roanoke was more than two years ago.

The engine no longer runs, and making it operational would take a lot of time and money, a Norfolk Southern Corp. spokesman said last week.

The 1218 faces an uncertain future. The railroad hasn't decided what to do with it.

The Virginia Museum of Transportation hopes NS will return the 1218 to the city where it was built in 1943.

In case events turn out as the museum hopes, the cover now being erected for the Class J No.611 steam engine has room for the 1218, spokeswoman Kay Houck said.

No relation

Q: Former State Department official Nicholas Katzenbach and a recent spokeswoman for the department, Margaret Tutwiler, both abbreviate their middle names as "DeB." What do those letters stand for, and are the two related?

G.W., Roanoke

A: Nicholas DeBelleville Katzenbach, born in Philadelphia, was U.S. attorney general in 1965 and 1966 and undersecretary of state from 1966 to 1969.

Margaret Debardeleben Tutwiler, born in Birmingham, Ala., was White House communications director the last six months of President Bush's term. She was the State Department spokeswoman three years before that.

Katzenbach and Tutwiler are not related.

Gainsboro sign

The entrance to Hotel Roanoke has a huge sign that says ``Historic Gainsboro.'' Who paid for this sign, and why is it there?

K.H., Salem

A: The sign is a product of meetings between city officials and members of the Gainsboro community, who asked that the street improvements enhance their neighborhood as well as Hotel Roanoke.

The new Wells Avenue is planted with trees and flowers and lined with the Hotel Roanoke's traditional stone wall - which supports this 20-foot curved sign with stainless-steel backing.

The cost was about $20,000, paid by the city of Roanoke.

The Second Street bridge project, scheduled to begin this summer, will add an identical Gainsboro sign where Second Street intersects Wells Avenue.

The signs mean the city has acknowledged historic aspects for parts of Gainsboro. Although the neighborhood hasn't been placed on a historic register or zoned as historic, the city and residents are studying those possibilities.

Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.