A number of times during the movie we see diesel trains plying back and forth along the Embarcadero. They belonged to the State Belt Railroad system whose purpose was to provide a link between the piers and the four railroad companies serving the city, namely the Southern Pacific, the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe, the Western Pacific and the Northwestern Pacific. The railroad ran between King Street south of Market and the Presidio via a 1500 foot long tunnel under Fort Mason. It began in 1889 using steam locomotives and was finally shut down in 1993 after the loss of most of the port traffic to Oakland. More information can be found here.
Then ... Below is engine number 20, one of a total of six, filmed in front of Shorty's Bar with pier 46 and China Basin in the background.
... and Now, pier 46 has been replaced by a marina and the same viewpoint today looks across South Beach Park towards the AT&T ballpark at China Basin.
Then ... Here we see Nick and Rica walking towards the Colchester Hotel past engine number 23 alongside the Wellman Peck building at the east end of Jackson Street.
... and Now, the corner of the Embarcadero at Jackson has completely changed, as shown below. The Wellman Peck corner building site is now part of this parking lot.
... from 1946 ... Below is an archival photograph of engine number 24 passing below the Bay Bridge.
... and Now, from the same spot we see the train was passing Pier 28, still there today. The railroad tracks have been replaced by the muni tracks of the T Third and N Judah lines.
But wait - take a look at the Bay Bridge in the 1946 photo above. Is that a train passing by on the bridge? It sure is - in the bridge's early years there was an electric train service, part of the privately owned Key System, connecting Oakland and San Francisco. Its two tracks ran along the south side of the lower deck, shared with automobiles using the north side. See the closeup below taken the day the service began, September 23, 1938.
The three crooks drive to meet a contact awaiting arrival of a ship carrying passengers from overseas. On the way they drive down Illinois Street.
Then ... This is Illinois Street looking south from 18th (map). The crane is in the Bethlehem Pacific Shipyard in the Dogpatch neighborhood east of Potrero Hill. Trivia note - Alfred Hitchcock used the same shipyard to represent one of the Vertigo locations.
... and Now, the Dogpatch is rapidly gentrifying but this stretch of Illinois, other than the missing gasholder, is yet to change. One set of rail tracks are gone but amazingly, though rusting and graffitied, that darn crane is still there a half century on!
Then ... The drug ring contact, Staples (Robert Bailey), is waiting for them at the terminal.
... from 1962 ... This vintage photograph shows where he was. The arrow marks where Staples was waiting, at the far end of the Mission Rock Terminal, aka Pier 50, in Mission Bay near to China Basin and today's San Francisco Giants ballpark (map).
... and Now , a berthed vessel blocks part of the view but CitySleuth was able to duplicate most of it from the corner of the pier.
Then ... As our mischief-makers drive onto the pier (below), the camera pan gives us a sweeping view of the terminal at the end of Pier 50.
... from 1955 ... Another aerial photo of Pier 50. This photo and the panorama from the movie, above, both look west down the length of the pier. The arrow marks where the scene was filmed.
... and Now, no longer a passenger terminal, the pier is still actively used for commerce.
Then ... The camera continues panning, a continuation of the panorama above, until the car stops at the end of the pier.
... and Now , the island on the right is Yerba Buena Island. Just beyond it, at far right, is the partially constructed single tower of the new suspension bridge scheduled to replace the old section of the Bay Bridge left vulnerable after the 1989 earthquake.
Staples' job is to describe to Dancer the passengers who are carrying the contraband and where they are staying. Dancer's job is to go get the stuff.
The first is a Mr. Sanders ... "They live at 9020 Jackson". (An interesting dyslexic misquote by Staples, even repeated by Dancer, because as we shall see, they live at 2090 Jackson). The heroin has been hidden in the handles of a set of flatware he bought in Bangkok.
Next, Dorothy Bradshaw and her daughter Cindy. In their case the hiding place is Cindy's doll from Tokyo. They are staying at the Mark Hopkins Hotel.
And finally, Larry Warner, a crewmember who is staying at the Seaman's Club. His package has been secreted inside a Tang Dynasty horse from Hong Kong.