QuickSilver (Programs)

QuickSilver Intermodal Service was christened to oversee the intermodal and logistics arm of the Georgia Road in 1996 as part of the new railroad. At first, it was simply a branded service of Georgia Road, who needed to keep close tabs on the system wide Intermodal trains, their routing, terminals and traffic.

As it moved through the 1990s, QuickSilver Intermodal began managing the actual terminals, and created QS Logistics, a subsidiary that was nothing but a sales and customer service company aimed at the trucking side of the rail-trucking combination of QuickSilver Intermodal Service. In 2002, QuickSilver Imtermodal Service then reorganized itself into an independent subsidiary of the Georgia Road (though Georgia Road still had controlling interest) called QuickSilver Intermodal, with QS Logistics simply part of the autonomous firm. As the 200s wore on, QuickSilver Intermodal also added brokering services, warehousing and even delivery to its core responsibilities. Soon after it established a nation wide network with its first RISC and RASC facilities located off the original GARD system.

The year 2004 was also notable in Georgia Road’s full implementation of the “Quicksilver Intermodal Service” (QSI). This new brand name embraced the general long distance intermodal operations other than those of the Eagle Flyer Service. A push to gain medium and short haul intermodal for LTL truckers such as USPS, UPS, ABF, Roadway and FedEx Freight also started as Georgia Road opened Regional Intermodal Service Centers (RISC) at strategic points between interstate corridors to provide a fast and cost effective rail vs. highway option. This Quicksilver operation was called the “Quicksilver Optima” service and employed the use of freely mixed traditional intermodal, all purpose well cars and roadrailers in Optima, or”optimized scheduled” trains. With its GAMS purchase, QuickSilver Intermodal could now boast terminals all over the Eastern Seaboard and Midwest.

In an effort to continue to broaden its traffic base, Georgia Road implemented its first Regional Automotive Service Center (RASC) in the Bessemer suburb of Birmingham, AL. This concept linked the idea of a regional fast on-fast off RISC setting programmed to serve the increasing number of foreign automakers in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. BMW sat on one side of greater Birmingham, and Honda on the other. Not only did they need “just in time” delivery of parts to supplies brought in from the ports on containers, but their various product lines had to be sorted and forwarded to markets over North America. Unlike US automakers, who typically specialized each facility to a limited make or model, these foreign makers used flex assembly lines capable of producing defined lots of many models with minimal change-over and no retooling. Once more, favorable dollar values abroad encouraged these makers to include more of the process inside the United States to control costs and eliminate losses due to currency fluctuation caused by the world-wide recession. Mercedes was the first to move more operations to its Vance, AL plant, linking suppliers in Germany to the plant via port facilities at Savannah, Brunswick and finally the underutilized Sea-Path in Charleston. The Warrior RASC in Bessemer proved the concept, as Mercedes initiated container trains from eastern ports rolled in for unloading and forwarding to its Alabama assembly plant and its suppliers. Honda quickly joined up, effectively doubling capacity and requiring Georgia Road to open its new Leigh Yard to handle these specifically defined and time sensitive operations. Using its QuickSilver links through the AMRR-FGC system, the foreign automotive business increased again as Georgia Road linked its own network RASC and RISC facilities with those of KIA, Hyundai and BMW.

The role of QuickSilver Intermodal expanded exponentially as it worked to create RASC facilities across the Georgia Road system and its connections, garnering much of the fledgling automotive traffic flowing out of the Deep South to dirstribution points in North America. At the same time, the Optima roadrailer service was also expanded to provide shippers with a top tier alternative to long distance over the road trucking. The typical RISC facility was built into the RASC terminal, and included two side or overhead container cranes over one or two paved tracks where roadrailers could be quickly put on the road to local shippers or assemble blocks for pick up by either key long distance trains or moved to hub points with Optima "slingshots" from spoke terminals to intermediate or base terminal ramps.

To guarantee automakers shipping by rail adequate car supply, Georgia Road acquired a large standing fleet of new and refurbished autoracks for RASC business supported by QuickSilver Intermodal traffic. The revenue stream was of such importance that Georgia Road began adding QSI logos on racks assigned to these pools in an effort to ensure cars stayed on assigned routes in designated pools.

In 2010, QuickSilver introduced its QuickSilver Cold Service, running in tandem with current and planned QuickSilver Optima operations. QSI noticed the growing number of express and perishable traffic moving back to rails from growers to distributors. The added ease and efficiency of quick handling refrigerated roadrailers, or "reefer-railers" allowed QSI to offer competitive rates to over the road trucking with comparable turnaround times. Off system RISC terminals were opened in the LA basin, Tacoma, Minneapolis, Gary, St. Louis, Kansas City, San Antonio, Greenville and Richmond, connecting system ramps in Memphis, Shreveport, New Orleans, Dallas, Atlanta, Birmingham, Jacksonvlle and Miami. The fact that the reefer-railers could backhaul any dry clean freight allowed them to be integrated in the Optima fleet to increase revenue mileage even when express or perishable freight was not available.

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