Molli
The narrow gauge Molli railway in Mecklenburg is a steam-powered railway running on 900 mm (2 ft 111⁄2 in) gauge track. It operates between Bad Doberan, Heiligendamm and Kühlungsborn West on a total distance of 15.4 km with a running time of 40 minutes. Inside Bad Doberan the line is built in the road, later along a linden tree avenue. Between Heiligendamm and Kühlungsborn the tracks run parallel to the Baltic Sea beach across fields.
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History
The line between Bad Doberan and the seaside resort 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 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 cities of Kühlingsborn 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 Kühlingsborn West houses the Molli-Museum. This railway company is not to be confused with the Mecklenburgische Bäderbahn AG, which opened the Roevershagen Kleinbf - Graal Mueritz line on 1 July 1925, running it until 1949 when the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn took over the enterprise.
Mollibus
Due to the low tourist demand in the winter, half of the trains are cancelled and are replaced by the so called Mollibus. This busline has got 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 busses between Bad Doberan and Kühlungsborn are called Mollibus. Of course not all buses drive the whole route. Some buses operate 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 to de See", which appeared 1989 on the AMIGA LP "if you to ok Plattfööt hest", in Low German about the Mollibahn. Furthermore, De Plattfööt sing in their song "De Isenbahnboomupundaldreier" (the Railway-boom-up-and-down-turner) 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 fans get to a rock festival by steam train.
