BigFred Quick Start: Log In and Drive Your First Locomotive

Log into BigFred, register your first locomotive, and drive it using the web throttle. Complete walkthrough from first login to moving trains.

This guide walks you through everything from opening BigFred for the first time to controlling your first locomotive. You’ll need the address of the BigFred server on your local network — ask your layout admin if you don’t have it.

Default admin credentials — change them immediately. On a fresh installation, BigFred seeds one admin account with the username admin and PIN 123456. This account is well-known and must be changed before the layout goes live. Log in as admin, then go to Account → Change PIN right away.

1. Open BigFred in your browser

   On your phone, tablet, or desktop, navigate to the BigFred server address on your local network. It will look something like:

   http://192.168.1.50:8080
   

   You should see the BigFred login page. If your browser warns about an untrusted certificate on an https:// address, that is normal for a local-network server — accept the exception and continue.

2. Log in with your username and PIN

   Enter your username and PIN in the fields provided. Your admin will give you these credentials when they create your account.

   The login form also contains a Layout dropdown. Select the layout you are joining for this session — your admin configures which layouts appear here. If there is only one layout, it will be pre-selected for you.

   Tap or click Log in to continue.

3. Add your locomotive to your vehicle list

   Before you can drive, you need to register your locomotive. Go to My Vehicles in the navigation menu and choose Add vehicle.

   Fill in the form:

   Field	What to enter
   Name	A human-readable name, e.g. ET22-1175
   DCC address	The address programmed into the decoder (1–9999)
   Kind	Choose Locomotive, EMU, Driving wagon, Trolley, or Wagon
   Decoder template (optional)	Pick a template if one matches your decoder model — it pre-fills the function key labels

   DCC addresses 1–127 are short addresses; 128–9999 are long addresses. Use whichever matches what is programmed in your decoder. Your admin assigns you a pool of addresses you are allowed to register — if your address is rejected, check with your admin.

   Save the vehicle. It now lives in your personal vehicle list.

4. Add your vehicle to the layout roster

   Your vehicle is registered, but not yet visible on the layout. Go to Fleet → Vehicles (the layout roster) and find your vehicle in the Available vehicles list. Click Add to roster to make it active on the current layout.

   Once added, your locomotive appears on the layout’s shared roster and is available for you to drive — or to lend to another operator via a lease.

5. Open the throttle and drive

   Navigate to Throttle in the menu.

   1. Select your vehicle from the roster dropdown at the top of the throttle page.
   2. Choose the command station you want to use — the admin configures which stations are available on your layout.
   3. Use the speed slider to accelerate, the direction toggle to reverse, and the function buttons (F0, F1, …) to control lights and sounds.

   The throttle keeps a wake lock on mobile devices so your screen stays on while you’re driving.

6. Change your PIN

   Once you’re up and running, change your PIN to something only you know. Go to Account → Change PIN, enter your current PIN, then choose and confirm a new one.

   Keep your PIN secure — it is the only credential that protects your account and your locomotives.

What’s next?

• Read Core Concepts to understand layouts, consists, interlockings, and leases in detail.
• To group multiple locomotives into a consist, go to My Trains and create a train with your vehicles as members.
• To join an interlocking as a signalman, click any interlocking row on the dashboard home page.