sucking transformer         
                                    
         
                                          
 a  type  of  transformer (an  electrical 
   component) found mainly along railway  
  lines. they're usually mounted halfway  
 between  the  rails   and  the  overhead 
                powerlines.               
                                          
 as  far  as transformers go,  these  are 
 very  big. instead,  not as  many  are 
     needed. among all rail-adjacent      
   artifacts/symbols, they belong to the  
               rarer kind.                
                                          
         
                                          
 the  railpeople  are  in   general  very 
    secretive about their symbols and     
 machines,  so   also   with   the   this 
 transformer.  what we  know  is what  we 
               can observe.               
                                          
 a  sucking transformer  is surrounded by 
 two   signs,  both  around  twenty  four 
 meters to each side  of  it. tranins  do 
 not stop between these signs during  any 
 circumstances  -   if  the   choice   is 
 between halting  within, or running into 
 another train just outside,  they prefer 
                colliding.                
                                          
 water  avoids  them. in light  rain, the 
 ground  closest to a  transformer  stays 
 dry.  a  common  sight  is  a  creek  or 
    stream making a half-circle detour.   
 generally, sucking transformers are not  
 placed near  to  larger bodies of water. 
                                          
         
                                          
 their function for the  rail environment 
 is poorly understood. they seem to  pull 
    in stray fields and electricities.    
     superstition exist that they also    
 affect spirits,  gijinkas,  and even the 
        souls of living creatures.