Air date: September 30th, 2013
Early one morning, the Fat Controller is briefing his engines at Knapford station. He warns them all about a piece of buckled track at Knapford Bend and tells them all to be careful. Unfortunately, Paxton is not paying attention as he is too busy laughing at a workman trying to catch a wayward duck and Thomas joins him. After the Fat Controller tells all the engines he wants no silliness, Paxton is determined to stick to it as he sets off for the shunting yard.
On the way, at Knapford Bend, Paxton travels slowly over the bumpy buckled track. The track makes him shake and giggle. Paxton forgets the Fat Controller's orders and reverses back over the track making himself chuckle again. Then, Thomas arrives and Paxton tells him to have a go on the buckled track. Thomas finds it fun too and Paxton urges him to take a run up and reverse over it. So Thomas does, but he reverses back too far and too fast and ends up bumping into Toby who is taking on water at the water tower. Water gets into Thomas' firebox and dampens his fire. Paxton is too upset and worried about what the Fat Controller might say so he immediately sets off on his way to the shunting yards.
When Paxton arrives at the yard, he overhears Toby talking to Stafford about the accident. He hears Toby say that Thomas has "lost his puff." Paxton thinks that a "lost puff" sounds very serious and he feels terrible about indirectly causing the accident. Paxton finds Thomas, who is still at the water-tower, and tells him that he intends to find the missing puff. Thomas is very confused, but Paxton has already raced away.
It's not long before Paxton spots some steam in the distance. Believing it to be the lost puff, Paxton sets off to locate it. When he arrives at the bridge, he sees that the steam is coming from Gordon, who is pulling the express. Then, Paxton sees something which he also believes could be the lost puff above Ulfstead Castle. When he arrives, a rather confused Stephen points out that it is just a cloud. Paxton feels foolish and rattles away to continue his search. As he rolls along, Paxton has an idea and decides to pay Victor a visit at the Sodor Steamworks; after all, Victor knows all about steam engines.
At the Sodor Steamworks, Paxton asks Victor if he has any spare puff. Victor is puzzled. Then, Toby puffs in and starts to laugh. Paxton is not impressed; Thomas' missing puff is a very serious matter. Toby explains that "puff" is just another word for "steam" and that Thomas will be fine as soon as his fire dries out. Paxton is left feeling foolish yet again.
Paxton goes looking for Thomas and finds him at Knapford station. He is delighted that Thomas is steaming again. Paxton explains that he has learned two lessons; that "puff" means "steam" and to listen to the Fat Controller. Then, Thomas and Paxton laugh as they see the workman still trying to catch the runaway duck.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- A Day in the Limelight: This episode marks Paxton's first leading role of the series.
- All Work vs. All Play: Subverted. Thomas tries to warn Paxton to pay attention to The Fat Controller's orders just until he laughs along with him when a workman tries to catch a duck.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Paxton, and Thomas to a lesser extent.
- Big Brother Mentor: Toby, and to a lesser extent Victor, who set Paxton straight about steamies' "puff".
- Characterization Marches On: Inverted. Toby is back to his initial wise and jovial Cool Old Guy personality.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Paxton, and to a lesser extent, Thomas.
- Easily Forgiven: Toby didn't seem to be cross with Thomas unintentionally bumping into him near the water tower; he was quite amused about what he did as he told Stafford.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Alert viewers may notice Toby starts to reverse a bit before Thomas bumps into him.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Paxton realizes that urging Thomas to travel the bumpy tracks wasn't a good idea after the latter bumped into Toby, causing him to "lose his puff".
- Oh, Crap!: Thomas when he accidentally backs into Toby and causes the running water to extinguish his fire.
