Strange that both motors were burned out. Makes one wonder what happened to this loco, no? These motors, as others have mentioned, are ubiquitous in hobby products. I've seen many of them in airplanes and other R/C toys. I don't think the problem is likely the motors themselves (given both failing simultaneously) but either the implementation of the drive train or accidents that occur with usage. As in some extraordinary load, mechanical (most likely I'd guess) or electrical. You cannot build a product that some consumer won't manage to destroy, for one thing 
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I agree that appealing to the LCCA or, most usefully, Lionel directly will likely result in a happy resolution. Chuck, as a former Lionel staffer, may be aware of who to contact to get results. I don't think Lionel wants deeply disappointed customers, even if "user error" was one possible cause. Whining and complaining about what Lionel might do now that the always faultless MTH is leaving the scene is unproductive and boring, in my view .
