The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #17715   Message #171875
Posted By: GUEST,Guest, BlueJay
01-Feb-00 - 05:52 PM
Thread Name: BS: What is a mudcat?
Subject: What is a mudcat?
You're probably sick of this question, but what exactly is a MUDCAT? I've seen this site enough to have a feel for what a MUDCATTER is, but my dictionary doesn't list "mudcat". The closest thing I know is MUDDUCK, an endagered species, (due to retirement), of Colorado and Southern railroad employees. Way before all the mergers with the former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, Denver Colorado was hit with a major flood in 1965. Rained for about a month and we had no flood control. Wiped out large sections of downtown, including Rice Yards, the C&S terminal. I worked for them later, but as I heard it, the poor bastards had to slog around in the mud for over a month- hence the monikeer MUD DUCKS was stuck on them by their competitor, the CB&Q. The C&S proudly adopted the term MUDDUCK, printing T-shirts and caps depicting ducks kicking mud on the CB&Q. Sadly, because of meergers, the CB&Q, Colorado and Southern and the great former Santa Fe railroad are now one. I live in southern Colorado, once a hub of the C&S. Few remember the C&S, and virtually no one remembers the heritage of MUDDUCK. I may have to start a campaign!

Back to my original question: what is a MUDCAT?