The line had several wooden cars and three were sent to the Houston North Shore Railway system in Houston, Texas which was also a Missouri Pacific subsidiary. The HSN interurban railway connected Houston with Baytown and Goose Creek, a distance of twenty-five miles.
The CBE cars numbered 1, 10 and 13 were transformed into HNS 528, 529 and 530 respectively.
The 528 (Coal Belt 1) was a combination locomotive, work and materials car which could pull several freight cars. It had an odd appearance because it had a central cupola on the roof, which was perched a tower for line repairs. The operator sat in the cupola on top. This was one of the most unusual interurban railway cars ever built.
When the Coal Belt Line had it in use, it carried passengers, express and freight. The car was 51 feet long, weighed 36 tons and was driven by four 60 HP Westinghouse motor.
The 529 (Coal Belt 10) was a fifty one foot long wooden coach of conventional design. It sat on a pair of short wheel-based truck axles which mad the long car look a little outlandish. This car had four 60 HP motors as did 528.
The 530 (Coal Belt 13) was a wooden coach as well. It had only two motors.
Both the 529 and the 530 had incorrect wheel treads for use on the Houston Electric tracks and therefore could not go into downtown Houston. Both of these cars were slow and could only be used on shuttle runs between Goose Creek and Baytown or Highlands.
All three cars were scrapped in 1934 at Goose Creek.
These cars were made in St. Louis, Missouri by the St. Louis Car Company and Westinghouse had a service shop located there as well. When the cars left Southern Illinois they were refurbished at the factory before being placed into service in Houston. They were then repainted for HNS use in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Most of the remaining cars were scrapped by Missouri Pacific, however a few of the motors removed from CBE cars ended up in cars with the HSN railway as well.
To power the electric line required a power plant which was located near Crenshaw Crossing between Marion and Energy. It consisted of a 500 Kilowatt motor generator and had just been installed around 1924 and as such was the latest in electrical equipment from General Electric.
The power plant and at least one employee of the Coal Belt went to the HSN line as well.
See also, Coal Belt Electric Line
(Data provided from CERA Bulletin 133 by Paul DeVerter, trolley enthusiast and historian)