Thanks for the response. It was helpful.

Hi, I'm interested in getting back into N Scale railroading but have some questions.

This is what is in my Amazon Shopping Cart.

Bachmann Trains Thunder Valley Ready-to-Run N Scale Train Set

Bachmann E-Z Track Crossing Gate - N Scale

Bachmann 5 Inch Straight Track (6/Card) - N Scale

Bachmann Industries Inc. 50' Plug-Door Box Car Chessie - N Scale

Bachmann ACF 40' Log Car 1906 - 1935 Version - N Scale

Bachmann Industries Inc. ACF 36' 6" 10,000 Gallon Single-Dome Tank Car Texaco - N Scale

Bachmann Industries Inc. ACF 50' 6" Outside Braced Sliding Door Box Car Burlington Northern - N Scale -

My questions are:

Will the crossing gate need an extra piece of track to complete the layout (like the shorter EZ Track converter piece). I heard the crossing gate track is shorter than the standard EZ Straight Track.

Will I have to change the couplers on the train set cars to match the EZ Mate Couplers on the separate freight cars? How hard a job is that if so? Is there another reasonable priced Bachmann set that has compatible couplers?

I'm hoping for something simple that works well. Thanks so much.