The composition is great and I don't agree that the train is ugly.

What lets the photo down, in my opinion, is the harsh light. There is plenty of rich yellow and brown in the front of the train and the trees and tracks, but the side of the train looks colourless and the tracks too dark.

This is a problem I am dealing with constantly in my own photographs. So often I end up with either 'flat' lighting, or overly harsh contrasts.