How can I skip rows with the union function?

Hello everyone,

I am trying to do a union of multiple row descriptions for some matrices. There are times when there is a slight row description difference; however, it is really the same. See below for the example. The first row of each matches exactly. The last 3 rows slightly differ due to the station location; however, it is really the same thing. Is there a way to "tell" the union function to ignore those rows even though they differ slightly?

"STA 22  Load at station=332"  
"STA 23  Load at station=477"
"STA 24  Load at station=477"
"STA 25  Load at station=558"

"STA 22  Load at station=332"  
"STA 23  Load at station=472"
"STA 24  Load at station=472"
"STA 25  Load at station=553"

Thanks.

Bill Rooker

[Star Strider]

What criteria make them eligible to be ignored?

Do they only differ in the last digit in the string, or can they differ at other locations in the last three digits?