Air date: September 7th, 2016 (UK)
One morning, Gordon is not ready to leave the sheds, as his firebox had not been cleaned out the previous night. Thomas tells Gordon not to be surprised if another engine replaces him for the express and suggests that Henry could do it based on his own experience, but Gordon doubts that Henry would be capable of doing it, claiming that things have changed since the last time he pulled the express. When Henry becomes nervous, Thomas cheers him up, and the two engines leave the sheds.
Thomas brings the coaches to Knapford, where the Fat Controller is waiting for Gordon. Thomas tells him that Gordon is not ready for the express and suggests that Henry fill in for him, to which the Fat Controller agrees, believing it will teach Gordon a lesson.
Gordon finally has his firebox cleaned out and arrives at Knapford to fetch his train, but finds the Fat Controller there instead. The Fat Controller scolds Gordon for not leaving the sheds, and assigns him to goods work for the rest of the day, much to Gordon's horror.
Meanwhile, Henry is making good time with the express, and his passengers and the railway staff are impressed by his affability. Gordon, on the other hand, is not enjoying his work, and grumpily arrives at Brendam Docks with his goods train, only to be given a train of coal as soon as he arrives. As Gordon is taking the coal train, he stops at a junction to allow Henry to pass by with the express, and becomes annoyed when Henry mimics him.
When Gordon returns to Knapford, he asks the Fat Controller if he can go back to pulling the express, but the Fat Controller tells him that he has to the Blue Mountain Quarry. Rheneas greets Gordon when he arrives at the quarry, but Gordon is still feeling cross. As Gordon begins to leave, the trucks put on their brakes, then release them and cause Gordon to hit a buffer stop. Gordon is finally fed up with his work and orders to be uncoupled at once.
That night, Henry returns to the sheds, and tells Gordon that he will be more than happy to let him pull the express again. Gordon begins to grumble about the work he had to do, when the Fat Controller arrives at the sheds and scolds Gordon for not doing all of his jobs earlier that day. He orders Gordon to pull the Flying Kipper, and threatens to make Henry the express engine permanently if he does not do it. Thomas and Henry tease Gordon by claiming that the Flying Kipper is not an easy job, but Gordon is determined to prove them wrong and leaves the sheds.
When Gordon returns to the sheds the next morning, the Fat Controller tells him that he can go back to being the express engine again. Gordon is delighted, but when the other engines notice how smelly he is, he leaves to be washed. Henry jokes about this, and all the engines laugh.
This episode contains examples of:
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Henry says Gordon's "Express coming through" a couple of times.
- Butt-Monkey: Gordon does not have anything go right for him. First, his firebox was not cleaned, leaving him in hot soup when he meets the Fat Controller. Second, he has to pull goods, coal and rocks, and then the Troublesome Trucks loaded with rocks to his annoyance, leaving him angry enough to leave the job unfinished. The night comes and the Fat Controller threatens to make Henry the permanent express engine. Then the other engines tease him over pulling the Flying Kipper... and just when he finally gets back his regular job, Henry and the other engines tease him over being smelly from pulling the Flying Kipper.
- Call-Back: Trying to coerce Gordon to pull the Flying Kipper, Thomas mentions James' difficulty with the train.
- Everyone Laughs Ending: Thomas and Henry have a laugh at Gordon's expense over pulling the Flying Kipper the night before.
- Forgot Flanders Could Do That: After spending a long duration as a Nervous Wreck, this episode serves as a reminder that Henry can pull the Express competently enough to make Gordon jealous.
- Hey, That's My Line!: Gordon is not pleased with Henry stealing his catchphrase while pulling the express.Henry: Express coming through!
Gordon: But that's my line! - Match Cut: After Rheneas is confused when Gordon demands to go back to the shed, the scene changes to a shot of the full moon in the same position of his own head, taking on a similar shape as well.
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: Henry and Thomas tease Gordon, thinking he wouldn't handle the Flying Kipper. This made Gordon determined to prove the two wrong. Utilised intentionally as the two engines were trying to get him out of trouble with the Fat Controller.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Gordon tells the other engines that he has successfully pulled the Flying Kipper, thought the audience never got to see it.
- Rage Breaking Point: Gordon grumbles about having to pull trucks after Henry pulls the Express, but he loses it after the trucks push him to the buffers at the Blue Mountain Quarry.Gordon: Uncouple me at ONCE! I'm going back to my SHED!
Rheneas: (to Skarloey) I only asked how his day was going. - Subverted Catchphrase: As Gordon arrives to the Blue Mountain Quarry, he was going to say "Express coming through", but as he realizes that he has to pull some stone trucks, he says "Engine coming through".
- Swapped Roles: Henry and Gordon do each others' jobs for the day.
