INTERMODAL SERVICES

Georgia Road Transportation offers a complete line of intermodal services including transportation, ramp services, customs clearance, fleet leasing and logistics support through its branded stand-alone subsidiary QuickSilver Intermodal Services (QSI). QSI operates the Georgia Road fleet of railcars and owns its own specialized pool of highway trailers, containers and supporting equipment. It also acts as a broker for its inhouse suppliers such as the STACKFAST pool of domestic containers, RAIL ROAD LEASING PARTNERS (RRX) autorack, well car and general service freight car fleets and its MODAL MANAGEMENT SERVICES (MMS) intermodal ramp service provider.

QuickSilver Intermodal Services was formed in 1996 to operate the intermodal operations of the newly formed regional Georgia Road Transportation (GARD) inherited from GARD bankrupt predecessor Central Alabama & Southern System (CA&S). The mission of QSI was to restore confidence in former CA&S intermodal shippers, and create a cohesive, organized system offering cutting edge products and grow business over the Georgia Road service lanes. The premiere service of the newly formed QSI was the APL CONTRACT North American Land-Bridge Service linking American Presidential Lines (APL) overland stack trains from Western Connections to its Sea Path One containerport in the closed and converted former Charleston, SC Naval Yard. Georgia Road regularly handed these highest priority, lucrative container trains on their final Southeastern leg of a cross-country journey between the Port of Los Angeles Long Beach container port and the Sea Path One container port in Charleston, SC. These containers originated in Southeast Asia and moved via APL ocean-going container ships at Long Beach. From Long Beach these containers switched from ship to rail to make the trek overland in the US to Charleston. Here a waiting APL ship reloaded the containers and moved them across the Atlantic to customers in Western Europe. European goods took the reverse routing to move to customers across the Pacific.

In addition to the APL CONTRACT, QSI was responsible for the existing TOFC traffic and the growing domestic container traffic throughout the Georgia Road system and its partner railroads. To handle this traffic efficiently and effectively, QSI took a page from the parcel service providers such as FEDEX and UPS to create a “hub and Spoke” series of large and small intermodal ramps to move highway trailer traffic over its system. Each container was treated as a single “parcel” in the system with specific routing that flowed each load through predetermined routes, trains and ramps aimed at increasing flexibility and quick turnaround. Fast “slingshot” trains moved containers from smaller regional terminals referred to as “spokes” in and out of large terminals known as “hubs” where they were compiled, sorted and placed on Link trains connecting strategically placed hub locations. The design relied on specific time windows, both tightly and regularly scheduled trains and ramp accessibility. The design was pitched as an economical and realistic alternative to single and fleet load long and medium distance over-the-road trucking. These hubs became inland port facilities as domestic containerism grew into the 2000s.

As more foreign automotive OEM manufacturers settled into the Deep South with automotive assembly plants, QSI aggressively sought the business by restructuring its hubs. Typical Intermodal hubs were called RISC facilities, short for Regional Intermodal Service Center. Those aimed specifically for automobile sorting, mixing and distribution were referred to as RASC facilities, or Regional Automotive Service Centers. Some hub terminals had both, particularly in the Southeast where no less than five assembly plants located in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Logistic supports chains for these automotive manufacturers had to be built up from scratch and the effort was made to tailor services to meet their specific needs which included marshalling, transporting, mixing and distributing cars for each individual OEM. In many cases, these chains did not integrate with existing domestic OEMs, giving QSI a unique opportunity to establish and grow novel new business never seen before,

In 1996, QuickSilver Intermodal Services introduced its QuickSilver OPTIMA Service taking advantage of Wabash-built Roadrailer technology to offer slack damage resistant premium “optimal” shipping service on the QuickSilver system. Unlike Norfolk Southern’s Triple Crown Services, QuickSilver Optima took a page from Amtrak Express Service playbook using the fast-on-fast-off capabilities of the Roadrailer in specific “blocks” which could be set out and picked up at terminals with short turnaround time. Roadrailer handling required little more than a graveled over siding, yard dog tractor and a bogey lifting body attachment to move the trailers from rail to highway mode in minutes. Blocks of Roadrailers had the railroad adaptive “couplermates” on each end of the block so specific blocks could be coupled together and easily handled at terminals like traditional railcars. These blocks were handled in homogenous trains where demand allowed it, but in most cases were tacked on to the end of traditional link intermodal trains similar to how Amtrak handled them behind passenger trains. In the case of link trains, these Roadrailer units were added to the rear of the traditional TOFC and Container cars. This service was specifically attractive to Just in Time (JIT) automotive customers, food distribution and express perishable services where loads were time or damage sensitive.

The Optima Service not only widened the use and reach of Roadrailer to all its network but introduced perishable customer specific QuickSilver “Cold” Service refrigerated Roadrailers into general use. The result of the Roadrailer integration allowed customers to access increasing tiers of service and handling characteristics designed to their specific needs.

In 2002, Georgia Road and several partner railroads created the STACKFAST (STFU and PFMU) pool of containers to capture growing cross country domestic container business. This service featured a fleet of red corrugated and while smooth dry van containers to guarantee availability for Georgia Road domestic intermodal customers. Some 2000 53ft units formed a pool where customers either originated or terminated on the QuickSilver Intermodal Service Network.

As the service matured, QSI added domestic mechanical refrigeration containers under the brand name “COLD CUBED (BRRU).” The bracketed word COLD was raised to the third power in graphics applied to traditional QuickSilver COLD markings to distinguish the service.

With well cars supply strained as intermodal grew exponentially, RAIL ROAD LEASING PARTNERS (RRX) was formed as a railcar pooling broker owned by Georgia Road and its partner railroads. This in-house supplier purchased new and refurbished TOFC, COFC and double stack well cars to run in the growing QSI network. RRX provided short- and long-term lease equipment to meet growing demand and guarantee equipment during high demand cycles when traditional pools such as TTX Corp. could not fulfill demand.

MODAL MANGEMENT SERVICES (MMS) is the Quicksilver Intermodal Service ramp service provider for all the hub and spoke ramps over the network. This company provides all manpower, trailer shuttle service, ramp trailer switching, railcar switching and logistic support surrounding the loading, unloading, sorting and on-site storage of intermodal units. Included in logistical support is operating on-site and satellite container and trailer repair yards, storage yards, inspection and running repair of railcars along with anything needed to maintain smooth operation. Administrative activities such as security and customs declaration/clearance services. also fall under the scope of MMS activities.

MMS utilizes an Ed Lewis Leasing (EDLX) MP15DC to switch autorack cars at the QSI Warrior RASC (Regional Automotive Service Center) mixing yard. ED LEWIS MODEL

MODELS

The outside braced dry “Z-vans” represent some of the first OPTIMA Service Roadrailers. These trailers featured the full “billboard” graphics using the font of majority owner Georgia Road Transportation. QuickSilver Intermodal Service, while ultimately a Georgia Road subsidiary, operated autonomously. Partner and participating railroads had their logos displayed in the upper front end of the trailer to denote assignment and actual ownership. While most trailers carried a single logo, some carried multiples giving some indication of their original intended route.
This shot shows one of the later additions to the fleet. QSI lettering was reduced to save cost and finishing time as these units were badly needed to cover expanding service. The small XTRA logo indicates this unit can by way of the XTRA Leasing surge fleet.
The clean and dry “Z van” fleet was the flagship portion of the QuickSilver OPTIMA Service. Here several dry vans wait their turn as a XRTRA Leasing version is pulled. QSI purchased whole used fleets from failed experiments on UP, BN and CN. When these used fleets could not answer growing demand over time, QSI tapped XTRA Leasing to provide fleet additions during surges.
Early versions of the QuickSilver COLD Service “Reeferailers” featured a typical highway tandem. Suggestions by local highways shuttle drivers saw the tandem split and staggered in later models to make balancing the trailer weight easier.
Later iterations of the QuickSilver COLD Service found a split tandem better distributed weight on the highway due to the cold dead weight characteristics of frozen food pallets inside the trailer.
Head shot of a QuickSilver Optima COLD service with a brand-new Thermo-King refrigerator pack unit.
QuickSilver Cold “Reeferailer” set up in rail mode showing the modified Optima graphics
Early publicity shot of the new refrigerated Roadrailer service dubbed QuickSilver COLD.
A faint Union Pacific shield logo and the slogan of the time period show the original owner of this QuickSilver Unit. Growth in the OPTIMA Service kept QSI always on the lookout for used equipment to fill gaps in the growing fleet. Many times, the need to get the units in service quickly saw some interesting re-stenciled paint jobs when the existing paint was deemed road-worthy.
A String of staged Optima Service Roadrailers wait to be picked up by an outbound QuickSilver Intermodal train. Paint schemes of failed Roadrailer operators demonstrate how growth in its own operations made it not hesitate to acquire lightly used equipment and press it into service with minimum paint.
Cold-Cubed Containers including one with the “Where’s Nippy?” mascot for the branded service. Nippy the penguin was chosen as the QuickSilver Intermodal Cold Service mascot, and his likeness began appearing on brand new 53ft “reefer” containers in 2018. The head shot is the first of nearly a dozen different murals that appears on random COLD CUBER containers and more recently Wabash -built OPTIMA Reeferrailers.
STACKFAST was formed as a pool between Georgia Road and its partners that insure adequate container supplies for QuickSilver Intermodal customers.
Three quarter shot showing the differences between Hyundai built and Wabash constructed 53ft domestic containers. A change in the color of the marketing slogan from yellow on red to black on white was the other only spotting difference on the StackFast Fleet
Top-down view of containers showing roof graphics applied to aid overhead container crane operators.
NP15AC EDLX #1222 with Mondal Management System decal works the Warrior RASC autorack lead with a Cumberland, Utica and Toledo RR (CUT) fresh off the CLE train linking the CUT to Georgia Road.
Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railroad (CLE) power shuffles around the main and holding tracks as MMS MP15AC leased from ED LEWIS LEASING shoves the autorack lead. The CLE units were the power for a joint autorack train moved from the CU&T interchange in Pittsburg, PA over the CLE and down to the Georgia Road for another load of Deep South built foreign OEM automobiles
Georgia Road remanufactured Maxi-Stack I well car sets for “port to supplier” automotive parts for various foreign automotive manufacturing OEM assembly plant which began locating in the Deep South in the 2000s. The top position paddles that allowed quick conversion from 40 to 45 were removed and the cars set permanently for 20ft and 40ft ISO units. The five pack units were reduced to three allowing each set to hold a set compliment of containers which when grouped represented a specific number of builds.
Close up shot of the “A-END” unit of a “Triple Twin Stack” car showing additional graphics distinguishing these cars from typical modern universal carry well cars.
QuickSilver Intermodal Services was also responsible for the finished automotive segment of the business. In the early years, GARD provided refurbished autorack cars for general pool service. An example of this fleet with obvious mis-matched panels sports the early Burgandy scheme.
As foreign owned automotive companies established OEM assembly plants in the South near Georgia Road lines, the autorack pool was extended and new purpose-built cars purchased. A “company” owned car featured the QSI logo and Georgia Road reporting marks. Pool cars were racks purchased on top of TTX Corp flats, the industry standard of the time.
As foreign owned automotive companies established OEM assembly plants in the South near Georgia Road lines, the autorack pool was extended and new purpose-built cars purchased. In this case larger AUTOMAX articulated cars were purchased to haul the increasingly popular SUVs. The SUV required additional head space and these cars optimized it. Standard bilevel autorack cars severely reduced capacity in an already strained pool. These cars addressed that issue head-on.