synchronized public static List<String> formerIdentities(){
  if (instance == null) {
    instance=new NodeIdentity();
    log.info("Using {} as the JMRI Node identity",instance.getIdentity());
  }
  return instance.getFormerIdentities();
}

synchronized public static List < String > formerIdentities ( ) { if ( instance == null ) { instance = new NodeIdentity ( ) ; log . info ( "Using {} as the JMRI Node identity" , instance . getIdentity ( ) ) ; } return instance . getFormerIdentities ( ) ; }
if network hardware on a node was replaced , the identity will change .
