2007 G8 Summit Magazine - (Page 41) A steam locomotive ride through downtown: 120 years of the legendary "Molli" Since the year 1886, the train called "Molli" has linked the towns of Bad Doberan, Heiligendamm and later, Kuehlungsborn on the Baltic Sea coast of Germany’s northwestern state to spend a few idle months in the train shed. Now, around 60 years later, the train is about to face its first enforced interruption. For the two weeks before and during the G8 summit in Heiligendamm in June 2007, no paying passengers will be permitted to board the train. However, "Molli" will be performing shuttle service for the hordes of journalists accredited to the venue being kept strictly off-limits. The journalists will scarcely be getting any work done on the train: amid a "Molli" was originally built for the purpose of taking vacationers in Bad Doberan to the oldest German seaside resort of Heiligendamm, six kilometres away. The stretch was opened on July 9, 1886 after only six weeks’ construction time. The train was an immediate hit, and already in its first year of operation it carried nearly 50,000 passengers. This success fuelled a desired by other communities further west to be linked to the network and so the rail line was extended in 1910 to Kuehlungsborn. The train’s name is rooted in a somewhat complicated legend involving one dog named "Molli" who was famous for chasing it. During the days of communist East Germany, "Molli" developed into a mixture of normal means of transport and as an excursion train. Alongside the beach tourists were the numerous school children and commuters who used the train to get to school and to work. The train’s high-water mark came in the mid-1970s when it was carrying more than one million passengers each year. However, only inadequate investments were made towards the upkeep of the technology dating back to the period of Kaiser Wilhelm. After the fall of communism and German reunification in 1990, the German rail company Deutsche Bahn regarded "Molli" as being uneconomical and wanted to shut the train down. But the regional and city governments along the stretch banded together to establish a new company which made the necessary renovations to get the train back into shape. Today, the train is again enjoying a rising demand. Rail fans from around the world are thrilled that nowadays, "Molli" with its four locomotives dating back to 1932 and its 37 coaches is still continuing to maintain regular services. G8 ©dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH Image: The narrow gauge railway “Molli” is due to carry journalists during the G8 summit. More Information: Contact: Internet: http://www.molli-bahn.de Mecklenburg-Pomerania. At the G8 summit, the historical train will be in transporting journalists. In the centre of the district town of Bad Doberan, people out in the traffic must watch out not only for cars, bicycles and pedestrians. Anyone who may be a bit too careless crossing the street is liable to run right into an historic steam locomotive. The train driver will then, with an energetic use of the engine’s whistle, assure himself of the right-of-way. For 120 years now, the traditional train known as "Molli" has been steaming its way right through the middle of Bad Doberan and on to Heiligendamm, and since 1910, to what is today the town Kuehlungsborn. "Molli" has appeared to be not all that impressed by the turbulent history swirling around it. It was only at the end of World War II that the train riding the narrow-gauge 900-millimetre rails had thundering noise, "Molli" rumbles and lurches its way along the rails. But the compensation is the certain feeling of railroading romanticism, the kind only steam-powered trains can offer. Depending on the wind’s direction, a mixture of steam and smoke sweeps past the windows so that you feel transported backwards in time. This feeling is all the more reinforced when looking at the town limits of Bad Doberan, where, to the left and right of the rails, villas from the Belle Epoque period of the late 19th Century vanish in the steam as the train goes past. Out in the countryside, the view is of lime trees lining the route to Heiligendamm, then of the oldest horse racing track in Germany. In Heiligendamm, the train rumbles past the gleaming white Grand Hotel Kempinski before travellers finally get a glimpse of the Baltic Sea as the train arrives in Kuehlungsborn. -41- | http://www.molli-bahn.de
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.