Bachmann steam engine tenders have had holes in the tender floor, and other provisions for sound, for quite a long time now. There are lots of older ones that pre-date the on board sound installation period, before the mid 2000s, they do not have such holes in the tender floor. These engines are seen all the time on eBay, some sellers have enough understanding to photograph the bottom of the tender clearly enough that you can see the holes if they are there. Engines that have the floor holes are referred to as "DCC ready," meaning that the decoder and speaker will largely be a drop-in process.
I always tell people. Beware of used model locomotives. You don't know what kinds of abuse they may have suffered. Being run at 150 scale miles per hour for years, being used to brain the little sister, there's just no telling what they've been through. Most people also don't understand that repair parts for these engines are almost always not available. Bachmann is a real exception to this, but few others, good luck, they won't be there.
I always tell people. Beware of used model locomotives. You don't know what kinds of abuse they may have suffered. Being run at 150 scale miles per hour for years, being used to brain the little sister, there's just no telling what they've been through. Most people also don't understand that repair parts for these engines are almost always not available. Bachmann is a real exception to this, but few others, good luck, they won't be there.