Well, not really.  It is the scene of a crime in a book I am writing.  Yesterday I was in Sacramento for a business meeting.  At the end of the day, I headed back to SMF. The best route to the airport took me within a couple of miles of a scene that I have written where a bad guy gets chased down on his motorcycle and wipes out on a Union Pacific railway crossing. A train – with fortuitous timing – ambles along and runs him over, severing a leg and destroying his motorcycle.

The cool thing about yesterday was that, when doing research for the book, I had picked the location by looking at a map of Sacramento and finding a likely location – train crossing in an industrial area but not too far from the main police station, and then used Google Earth to get the best feel for the area I could. I did not really expect the actually be able to visit the location.  But luck was with me.

The actual road – Elder Creek Road – is wider and more traveled than I expected, and the tracks cross the road further from the intersection of Power Inn Rd.  Neither of these effect the story much.  Interestingly, there is only a curb on the south side of Elder Creek, but not the north side. I need to rewrite a little.  Also, there is an Army Depot a little further along Elder Creek.  Maybe some soldiers can be running over to help…..