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.