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.