Create custom liveries in Train Sim World, select them in services or Free Roam, and fix designs that fail to appear on your chosen train.
Create a custom livery in Train Sim World with the built-in Livery Designer: choose a supported locomotive or coach, apply paint and layered decals, then save it. To use it, select that exact vehicle and choose the saved design in Timetable, Scenario Planner or Free Roam; availability varies by stock and game version.
How do you create a custom livery?
Train Sim World's Livery Designer builds a repaint from editable paint areas and layered in-game decals. The menu may sit under Creative Tools or the Creators Club area, depending on the Train Sim World release and interface.
- Open Livery Designer. Start a new design rather than editing an official livery.
- Choose the exact vehicle. Route-specific versions of the same locomotive class may be treated as separate models, so select the one you intend to drive.
- Set the base colours. Apply colours to the editable body sections before adding small details; this prevents large paint layers from covering later markings.
- Add decals in layers. Position, scale and rotate the supplied shapes, letters and symbols. Layer order controls which markings sit on top.
- Check both sides and every vehicle. Mirroring can reverse lettering, and painting one car does not necessarily repaint an entire multiple unit or coach rake. Switch through each editable vehicle where the editor permits it.
- Save with a clear name. Including the locomotive class and source route in the name makes similar variants easier to distinguish in the train selector.
A mistake we see constantly is building a complete logo on one side, mirroring it and discovering that the text is backwards. Duplicate individual shapes where useful, but rebuild or flip directional lettering correctly. The editor also has a finite layer allowance, so combine simple shapes efficiently and remove hidden duplicates.
How do you select and use a saved livery?
A saved livery must be selected for its compatible vehicle; it does not replace every copy of that train globally.
| Mode | How the custom livery is used |
|---|---|
| Timetable | Choose a compatible service and use the livery or appearance selector when one is offered. Some route and stock combinations may also use player liveries as substitutions in AI traffic. |
| Scenario Planner | Select the matching locomotive or formation, then choose the saved design from its available liveries. |
| Free Roam | Open the train-spawn menu, choose the supported formation and select the custom appearance where available. |
Free Roam is usually the quickest place to inspect the finished result in daylight and from several angles. Our guide to spawning and driving trains in Free Roam covers that mode in more detail.
If the train or route itself is absent rather than just the paint scheme, confirm that its add-on is installed and recognised by the game. Our overview of Train Sim World routes and add-on availability explains how route ownership affects the stock you can access.
Why does my custom livery not appear?
A missing custom livery is usually attached to the wrong vehicle variant or blocked by the selected service rather than lost.
- Wrong stock variant: two visually similar locomotives supplied with different routes can have separate livery entries. Reopen the design and verify its source vehicle.
- Fixed service formation: some timetable services restrict the train or appearance they can use. Test the design in Free Roam or Scenario Planner instead.
- Incomplete formation: a locomotive livery does not automatically repaint its coaches, wagons or every car in a multiple unit.
- Content setting disabled: if your release provides a player-livery or custom-content setting, make sure it is enabled.
- Missing entitlement: the underlying route or train add-on must be installed and recognised. A livery cannot supply the vehicle itself.
- Different profile or platform: locally saved creations are associated with the profile and platform on which they were made. Do not assume they will transfer automatically after changing platform, account or game generation.
Confirm that the design still opens inside Livery Designer before recreating it. If it is present there but unavailable elsewhere, select the exact model in Free Roam; that separates a compatibility problem from a damaged or unsaved creation.
Can you import logos or images into Livery Designer?
The official Livery Designer does not import arbitrary PNG, JPEG or texture files. Logos and lettering must be assembled from the supplied decals, shapes and characters, which is why complex branding can require many carefully aligned layers.
External texture replacements are a separate form of PC modification, not an extension of Livery Designer, and they are unsuitable for consoles. They can also depend on a particular game build or add-on version.
Can you share custom Train Sim World liveries?
Supported releases let eligible creations be shared through Creators Club after signing in with the required account. Uploads can be affected by moderation, account settings and content ownership, and other players still need the underlying locomotive or add-on to use the design.
Only share artwork and branding you have permission to distribute. Downloading somebody else's livery does not make an unsupported vehicle editable or provide paid rolling stock that the receiving player does not own.