Found this old article that gives the pros and cons of extending a particular tourist line into Pleasanton, CA .... Enjoy !

KRK
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Publicaiton date: January 28, 2000

Niles train plan turned back
Advisory group rejects bid to bring line downtown

Railroad buffs regrouped this week in their efforts to expand the Niles Canyon Railroad into downtown Pleasanton.
The Pacific Locomotive Association, operator of the railroad, wants to use the old Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way along Sunol Boulevard to bring vintage trains now operating between Sunol and Niles to Pleasanton. The proposal, which has the endorsement of the Parks and Recreation Commission, called for the train to travel as far north as Angela Street, the site of the Saturday Farmers Market.
After a series of public hearings, the Downtown Specific Plan Committee rejected that proposal last week in an 8-5 vote. It indicated that it might favor an alternate plan to have the train stop near the Pleasanton Senior Center, with a boarding station there and walkways into downtown.
"The Downtown Association is still on record supporting the idea of bringing the historic steam train into downtown," said Craig Scharton, executive director of the Pleasanton Downtown Association. "We need to look for ways to continually invigorate our downtown district, and the train would be a great addition."

Others aren't so sure. Residents of a senior-living complex on Case Avenue complained that the train would add to noise and traffic problems already in their neighborhood. Community activist Jack Hovingh called the train proposal a tax write-off for railroad enthusiasts and urged that it be left in Sunol.
More than 70 percent of Pleasanton voters approved the plan in an advisory vote in 1996. But since then, the old tracks on the right-away - which is controlled by Alameda County - have been pulled up, with much of the property converted into parking spaces for downtown businesses and the Senior Center.

The right-of-way was acquired by Alameda County in the mid-1980s after the Southern Pacific Railroad switched its active line to other tracks it owned west of downtown. Since then, citizens' groups have suggested using the roadbed for trails or a bike path, as well as parking.
Under the plan advanced by the Pacific Locomotive Association, the proposed railway would be financed by a federal grant of up to $700,000 to rebuild the train tracks. The trains themselves are maintained and operated by volunteers.
"This would be a chance to preserve an important part of Pleasanton's history," said Tim Flippo, PLA's president. "This was the site of the first transcontinental railroad, and restoring this historic railway would help to keep Pleasanton's downtown vibrant, easy to access and fun to visit."
Scharton said the Downtown Association's first choice remains placing the northernmost part of the project in the downtown district, but added that the group could also accept having a station and engine turntable south of Bernal.
"The Downtown Specific Plan (Committee) is a recommending body," Scharton said. "The train will still be an issue for the Planning Commission and the City Council when the draft Specific Plan is in front of them for consideration and adoption. All of the train alternatives will be reviewed in the environmental assessment in case the council decides that the train should come into downtown, as opposed to stopping at Bernal."