Some years ago, I rode a train from Winnipeg to Churchill, MB, CA.

[raccoon]

Along the way I saw a lot of poles like this:

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Are they propped up that way because of permafrost? Or some other reason?

For that matter, why is there a pole without any wires? What gives?

[hunter]

1. Swiss people are always amazed that our poles are not straight in America.

I'll venture that this pole was more or less perpendicular to the ground when it was installed. Over time it began to lean away from the track. Rather than straightening it back up, the railroad simply propped it up with a second pole. Then, when the two poles started to lean to the right, a third pole was added. When the signal wires were replaced by radio and/or buried cables the wires were removed and recycled, leaving these poles in place.