Rusty, I wonder why the Alton struggles to pull that train. Below is a picture of my FlyerChief GP7 pulling a 20 car freight around a 180deg 2.1% grade, 60” diameter curve. The section from the rear tunnel to the bridge is 1.8%. Every engine I have will pull that train up that grade. The track is MTH, so the same as you are using. All the trucks are carefully lubricated and clean so it is as free rolling as Gilbert, Lionel and MTH cars can be.
I do not have the Alton but I have a NH and a Southern (AM) each with the 6 passenger cars. My poorest pulling engines are the older TMCC Lionel Flyer Pacifics and Light Mikado’s.
