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It definitely can be replaced. The term for it is coupler, which may help your search. There are 2 major kinds of ho scale couplers as far as I know. There are the modern kind that are called knuckle couplers that are made by a number of different manufacturers. The kind you have are older and called "horn hook couplers" and I believe you can buy them from a variety of manufacturers as well. From a quick Amazon search I found these. I can't guarantee they'll work but you can do more searching for ho scale Tyco horn hook couplers and see if you can find a pack that look just like the one on the front of your locomotive.