I used RS-485 in 1988 for LED display signs along a GM assembly line. It didn’t use token ring, just collision detection. It was a boss/peon setup and the signs would only originate traffic in response to queries from the controller.
I don’t know if they ever had problems with power surges. Shielded pair might help with that.
As I recall, we got that contract after some company called Research In Motion (RIM) flubbed it. 
