This all reminds me of the long ago days of Custom Trains. Their first FM was set up in the PW traditional style with regards to trucks and axles. Tires were installed on both geared axles. There were also slots for external mounted wheel magnets - not supplied. The motors used in these things was a pair of non flywheel Mabuchi cans. And they were huge! Pulling power was off the chart. So, unfortunately, was the control of these motors with the old Lionel power supplies. Newer versions featured smaller can motors with flywheels, and better control. These were stealth imports by Mike Wolf, done while he was still working with Lionel. I would think that the original Lionel FM set up with tires on the geared axles would be a fearsome puller.
There are always a few of those Custom Trains units listed for sale on various sites, and almost always for great prices ($150 or less).
I've also experimented with DC motors and conventional control. The issue I found is the electronic reversing units do okay with light loads but with heavy loads they jerk too much on starup, which will pop couplers or lifts cars off the track, causing a mess.
