It was a single circuit, at least off peak. An Epping train would arrive at platform 14, do a City Circle service, then form a Hurstbridge line service. Ditto, a Hurstbridge line service would arrive at platform 14, do a single City Circle service then depart for Epping. In the peak hour there would be a limited number of City Circle services running very infrequently to the point of presumably only being for operational purposes, much as they are now. The last City Circle was just after 7pm on weekdays from memory, with no City Circle services in the evening. Pretty sure Saturday trains were much the same but without the peak variant. In those days the City Loop wasn’t open Sundays so obviously no City Circle trains, although I always wondered about an odd anomaly in the original 1982 timetable which did have a couple of trains late Sunday afternoon going via the loop. These were gone by the 10 June 1984 timetable.

That maybe correct. Is there anyone old enough to remember hehe. I think Fitzroy might have been a destination in the steam train era but not electrified. Nth Carlton was in early 1900s as per photo. According to Wiki the trains terminated at Victoria Park before a reverse run to Heidelberg (all predating the current Mernda line) this explains all the excess land next to Vic Park station and the remnants of of old overhead cable frames. Thanks 🙂

Also note that the destination blinds on the Tait trains had locations added and removed over the years.

https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/247966

I don’t believe the ‘City Circle’ name was ever applied to trains running around the Inner Circle – and the trains that did use the line never completed a full circle, they originated in the city and headed to Fitzroy, North Carlton, Heidelberg or Whittlesea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_Circle_railway_line

I’m curious about the destination “city circle” because i have a feeling it pre dates the loop. The original “city circle” ran in a circle departing flinders street/ stopping at spencer st/-nth Melbourne/Royal Park/Carlton/Fitzroy/Rushall/Clifton Hill/Victoria Park/Collingwood/West Richmond / -return to flinders. (also known as inner circle) The red rattler vintage red trains (Tait trains) have city circle on their destination blinds (and they were on the rails 1920s-1980’s ! 🙂

This map from the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan has the proposed tunnel with proposed Fitzroy station location and proposed connections Clifton Hill and the proposed East Doncaster line:

https://prov.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/Blog/Research/1969-Transport-Plan-LOOP%20web.jpg

This early City Loop diagram shows the proposed single track connection to Victoria Park.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MelbourneTrains/comments/fxj5kt/old_plans_for_the_city_loop/

The Museum/Melbourne Central to Clifton Hill via Fitzroy tunnel had been built.

A corresponding Clifton Hill to Parliament tunnel via Fitzroy had been built.