The substation¶
The substation is the overloaded, arcing electrical substation near the Sherman Ranch turnoff, built alongside the community center, whose keys the cleanup crew wants and which is found blown up by grenades after Coyote's attempt to sabotage it during the finale.
| Type | Location (electrical substation) |
| Aliases | Electrical substation |
| Region | Near the ranch turnoff outside Ballard, Utah |
| Status | Wrecked by grenades (as of Walkers 09) |
| First appearance | Walkers 02 |
Description¶
A gray substation behind fabric-screened chain-link, about four miles from town and in sight of the ranch, next to the community center (Walkers 02, Walkers 03). Alberta says the ranch always hums at night, perhaps because of the substation; Robert Bigelow dismisses the idea, noting that there are substations everywhere and that the effects are confined to the ranch (Walkers 02).
History of events there¶
The pop. After the dusk event, on the road toward the community center, the team hears loud popping from the substation and sees flickering light. Andrew notes the time and the team stops. Kurt rolls Investigate a Mystery (a 10) and learns that the equipment is arcing into the ground, smells of hot metal, and is being driven far harder than designed. Learning more would mean breaking in, which they judge unsafe (Walkers 03). Later the pop and the car's sideways shift are matched with spikes on Bigelow's EM meters, though the data are noisy (Walkers 04).
The keys. After the massacre at the Roosevelt police station, men in gray maintenance uniforms look over the team's cars and say the police keep the keys to the substation and they need them. A firefight follows (Walkers 08). See Utah cleanup crew.
The sabotage. In Walkers 09 the substation is arcing violently onto its surroundings and has started a large fire on both sides of the road, forcing the convoy off-road. Kurt suggests sabotaging it, since it looked overloaded and may be causally tied to the effect at the ranch. The major asks for volunteers, and Coyote (Walt Murphy) steps forward with his illegal rocket launcher and takes an APC back with a few Guardsmen and grenades. When the party passes later, the APC lies on its side among dead bodies and blown-up station wagons, and the substation has been exploded with grenades. There is no sign of Coyote from the outside. The party assumes his team destroyed it, but Andre says they cannot confirm this. With the interference gone, the APC's long-range radio reaches the National Guard outpost in Salt Lake City.
Trivia¶
- The episodes never establish whether the substation caused the ranch's effects or was only drawn on by them.