The structure I am calling the "freight depot" was a major part of the terminal dock complex. It was about 30 feet wide and 120 feet long. It had an open platform along one side of the depot next to the railroad siding. This platform extended about 60 feet beyond the end of the depot at one end. This arrangement would have accommodated six 30-foot cars or four 40-foot cars. The platform and floor of the depot were raised above the surrounding dock to the level freight car floors.
I have found one or two photographs of this structure. The first photo is of one end of the depot. This view is consistent with the lithograph. It shows the curved trestle carrying the rail line to the dock from Way Key, the spur running along one side of the depot, and a fairly narrow section of the dock along the other side. An unusual feature is the large opening on the left side of the end. The lithograph shows a similar opening at the far end, indicating that a covered platform ran the length of the structure parallel to the open platform along the spur. A ramp leading to the open platform can be seen between the structure and the box car on the spur.
A highly compressed model of the depot that appears to be based on this photo is on display at the Cedar Key Historical Society Museum. The museum model includes what appear to be waiting passengers, but the lithograph indicates that the passenger depot was located on Way Key.
I believe that another photo also shows this structure, although at another time. It shows one side of the structure, as well as the end. The second photo differs from the first in a couple of particulars. The board-and-batten siding in the first photo is not evident in the second one. The first photo shows a double personnel door, or possibly a freight door, on the right side, while the second photo shows a single door and a window. The second photo shows just three windows near the west end of the side of the structure, while the lithograph shows a couple of freight doors and several windows along the length of that side. However, the distinctive large opening on the left side of the end of the structure looks like it is the same structure, and the length of the structure is consistent with that depicted in the lithograph.
I am relying on a photo of another structure at the Cedar Key Terminal for details of the freight platform and spur. This structure is adjacent to the trestle from Way Key, and is visible at the extreme left of the first photo above of the freight depot.
I will cover the constructions of the underpinning for the freight depot, including the loading platform and adjacent spur trestle, in my next post.