"Model Railroader" had a two part series in the April and May 2009 issue on the general methods Dean Freytag used to build "Freitag Foundry". 

I stumbled across these articles when I started searching for scale drawings to make my own crane for my IH Farmall West Tractor Works.  I already have one Walthers crane on the layout, and I was looking for a more modern crane than what is represented in the Walthers kit. 

Back in January of this year I had completed my alpha build of a ACF 4000 gallon welded tank car.  This car was featured in an article in two past "Model Railroader" issues, with the most recent being June 1994, which reprinted the plans in an earlier issue from the 1950s. 

One of the items I'm finding is if I don't design constantly with Fusion 360, I start to forget the odd "foundation" items, and have to spend time relearning stuff.  I don't like doing that, so I've decided that I have to keep something "on the burner" when it comes to 3D design and printing. 

Earlier this month I received a couple of photos from my friend Brian of the Kankakee River Bridge that I had designed and printed for him.  I gave him a pile of parts (2nd batch shown, parts for three spines delivered earlier):

And then I said, using my best Hedley Lamarr voice:  "Now go do your vodoo, that you do, so very, very well!

Here is what came out. sitting in its final resting place on Brian's layout:

This blog will document my journey into 3D printing.  I am starting from scratch, so I figured that documenting my journey may assist others into "jumping into the pool".