Coupler adapters

sorry that I'm not addressing your issue, but I have the same issue with my tin-plate stuff.  The couplers are the same style but are differing heights.

OK back to YOUR topic

walt

As a teen, my father took one car and put different couplers on each end, allowing cars with different couplers to be in the same train.

If you push the coupler hooks towards each other so they overlap, would a small, black plastic tie-wrap, tied tight but not enough to raise the lower coupler, work ?  Seems like the shank-end of each hook would keep the tie-wrap from coming loose.

You may be able to figure out how to use a paper clip to do the job.

I wanted to pull Marx tinplate cars as they are lighter and more typical of 1930s trains.  The Torpedo tin coal tender got Lionel old style couplers so I made a tiny adapter from a paper clip shown below, to allow pulling Marx spade coupled cars.  It simply has a loop to be held by the pin of the coupler.

Charlie

Thanks for the replies.
I will give paper clips a try.
got lots of them.

If the coupler assembly is separate from the truck assembly, you might be able to slip a washer between them to raise the coupler, and the car body.

The coupler assembly on the 262 tender is separate so I cheated a little and bent it down a bit.  The box coupler from the tinplate car has enough upward slop (movement) that it connects and I have a running train.  It looks a little funny since the couplers are visually not in line, but no one noticed at a recent gathering.   Now the box couplers are more likely to let loose after a few laps.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Bob