Lionel has released several later versions of the PE traditional sized locomotive with upgraded power. I took a conventional Series II model (larger motor) and upgraded it to TMCC and fan driven smoke. It easily pulls seven of the set PE cars around my layout, including the 2.5% grade. I've also run one of the Lionchief Plus 2.0 locomotives with the same seven cars with the same result. I'd probably opt for the LC+ 2.0 model and swap the shell if you want to "improve" the looks.
Here's my TMCC upgraded model coming up the grade with all the cars. The LC+ 2.0 model has the same larger motor and the same performance on my layout.
