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.