Molli

The Molli (German: Mecklenburgische Bäderbahn "Molli") short: (MBB) is a narrow-gauge steam-powered railway in Mecklenburg, running on gauge track. It operates between Bad Doberan, Heiligendamm and Kühlungsborn West over a total distance of 15.4 km with a running time of 40 minutes. Within Bad Doberan the line runs through the street, and later along a linden tree-lined avenue. Between Heiligendamm and Kühlungsborn the tracks run parallel to the Baltic Sea beach across fields.

History

The line between Bad Doberan and the seaside resort of Heiligendamm was opened on 9 July 1886, built and operated by the railway enterprise Lenz & Co. in Stettin (today Szczecin, Poland). On 1 March 1890 the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin took over the line and integrated it into the Grand-Ducal Mecklenburgian Friedrich Franz railway. The extension of the line to the Baltic Sea resort of Kühlingsborn, which was still called Arendsee at that time, took place on 12 May 1910. Starting from 1920 the line was operated by the German National Railway. In 1995 an operator company, consisting of the district of Bad Doberan as well as the towns of Kühlungsborn and Bad Doberan, took over the enterprise. Today the consortium calls itself the Mecklenburgische Bäderbahn Molli GmbH & Co. KG in Bad Doberan. The railway terminal at Kühlingsborn West houses the Molli-Museum. This railway company is not to be confused with the Mecklenburgische Bäderbahn AG, which opened the Rövershagen Kleinbf - Graal-Müritz line on 1 July 1925, running it until 1949 when the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn took over the enterprise.

From May 30th, 2007 to June 9th, 2007, the train service was cancelled owing to the G8-summit at Heiligendamm. The tracks between Heiligendamm and Bad Doberan were damaged during the summit so that the train services were cancelled two further days.

Mollibus

Owing to the low tourist demand in the winter, half of the trains are cancelled and are replaced by the so-called Mollibus. This bus line is the number 121 and drives from Rostock Bus station via Bad Doberan, Heiligendamm and Kühlungsborn to Rerik. It is operated by the Küstenbus GmbH. Only the buses between Bad Doberan and Kühlungsborn are called Mollibus. Of course not all buses drive the whole route. Some buses operate in the summer also in the morning and evening because of the low demand.

Music

The Mecklenburg duo "De Plattfööt" sing in their cheerful song, "Holiday up`n Molli an de See", about the Mollibahn in Low German. It was released in 1989 on the AMIGA LP "Wenn du ok Plattfööt hest" (if you have flat feet too). Furthermore, De Plattfööt sing in their song "De Isenbahnboomupundal-dreier" (the Railway-barrier-up-and-down-winder) about a railway crossing guard's everyday life.

Since the 1990s, the Molli has also been one of the main ways of getting to the Zappanale, a festival held every summer dedicated to the music of Frank Zappa. The site for the past few years has been the Gallopenrennbahn (racecourse) about halfway between Bad Doberan and the coast. It is not very often that fans get to a rock festival by steam train.