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.