Here's a bit of it in the 1950's ish era, judging by the vehicles, but I can't see any wide steps.
I've always been puzzled by the 1885 picture - I don't know if there is a bit of an optical illusion going on. If they were balconies we can see, why did they have a wall around them? Did the wall support the floor joists? Why were the balconies so narrow?
This leads me on to ask what if they were not balconies, but part of the bedrooms that had lost their outside walls. Why were they so narrow and why did they have windows inside that looked like outside ones?
If you look closely at the top picture (from the original 2011 post), you can see that this is after the rebuilding took place, the clue being the slightly lighter shade of brickwork and stonework where the missing masonry was in the pub book picture.
As for the railway, I expect it would be 'cut and cover' at this point, which is not normally very deep, but deep enough cross the docks branch line which re-emerges only a few yards away, between Henry Street and Argyle Street.
It is interesting to note that the demolition of the Chester Arms was so critical to land usage by the Tunnel approaches that they have been able to build a Premier Inn hotel on the same site.
Description: Chester Arms on the left, 1950's.