Interesting there is such a disparity in the experience.
So one thing often overlooked in the forever churning track vs battery power debate, is that battery powered people have no reason to "sand" or "polish" the rails, and they usually have brass track. The oxidized brass track had a lot MORE friction/traction as opposed to nice clean polished track.
Perhaps this is the difference between your two experiences. I've learned the hard way, try stainless steel drivers on slippery stainless steel track!
By the way, adding traction tires to that small track powered loco would severely impact it's power pickup, weight is all you can do. This is why some kind of suspension is really needed, if only on one axle. Look at an Aristocraft 2 axle motor block, one axle can conform to the rails, so with enough weight all 4 wheels have good contact.
No such suspension in your Piko mini loco.
Greg