I have an old Lionel Scout train from the 1950's.  I just bought some new Lionel cars to add to it.  The couplers are a little different (I'm surprised Lionel would change them at all) and I can't keep the new cars connected to the older ones.  There has to be a remedy to this!!  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for the info - but the couplers on my older cars are riveted on.  The couplers on the new cars screw on.  I guess the question is can I get older type couplers to SCREW on the new cars?  I would only need two of them. Do they make them??

Going a long way back in the memory banks, here. On the Scout units, the recommendation was to bend the coupler down enough to swing the truck 180 degrees, and using a conversion coupler (standard replacement coupler for a PT-1 style truck), lay it up and bend the tabs over the axles.
I think I remember the Scout couplers were cost saving to allow lower retail pricing of the sets.


I just went and checked my Greenberg's from 1978, page 665 shows how to do it.
480-25 is the part number for the coupler, probably changed, any of the usual suspects should have it. Ask for the "tab coupler", has a tab sticking out the side. You can do them all at once, or one now, two next time, two next time....does an adaptor car first, then a full car, full car, until you're done. There is even a way to do it with Box couplers, which I bhave done, and still have on my railroad.
Sam