OK, the DCC/sound installation is finished with good results. I kind of bypassed the new cb by soldering track pickup wires to the weight/frame at the top and soldered wires directly to the motor wires after clipping them from the cb. There was plenty of room to run the 4 wires down the side of the motor and out the bottom on the fireman's side and back to a 4-pin plug. I decided to let the light be track powered as I don't turn it off much anyway. The very roomy tender now houses an original "series 1" SoundTraxx Tsunami decoder, a speaker enclosure glued under the coal load  and a SoundTraxx Current  KeeperII. I drilled tiny holes through the coal load for the sound to escape. Other than those holes, the only other mod I did was to trade out the plastic wheel sets for metal ones. Now on to the super detailing!

You've probably done something by now but almost all DCC sound decoders have a mute "button" which is F8, but of course you would still need a friend with DCC to perform the operation.

OK, just joined yesterday so have a lot to learn!

Nice work on the details, Jonathan! I tried to post a picture of the new board but the forum only allows 128kb and my picture files are too large.
John T.

OK, Bachmann service has gotten back to me and the motor is isolated. I need to know more about what  the little circuit board does on top of the chassis. A diagram would be a godsend.

 I have recently purchased one of the newest HO 0-6-0 switchers and intend to install a sound decoder and speaker in the tender. I have the connectors, etc. needed so that is not the issue. It appears that the motor is electrically isolated in this model. My main intention here is to verify that fact and any information about the little CB on top of the frame would also be appreciated. Thanks!
John T.