Air date: September 16th, 2002 (UK), January 13th, 2003 (US), October 15th, 2005 (Michael Brandon US)
Cranky is kept working through the day and night. When he becomes frustrated with Salty's tales, he accidentally drops a load of pipes onto the rails, knocking over a shed and trapping Salty, Bill, and Ben at the docks. Salty passes the time by telling sea stories to the delighted twins, but poor Cranky is unable to get any rest even when he is not working. He is awake all night, until Harvey finally clears away the mess in the morning. Cranky is so relieved that Salty won't have to tell anymore stories, he stops being cranky and is very polite to all the engines. But soon he just can't help himself and dumps some more pipes onto the tracks. All the engines laugh, except for Cranky, who just stays cranky.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Gleeful and Grumpy Pairing: Salty and Cranky have this respective dynamic. Salty is a cheerful diesel who enjoys working by the sea and telling tales of the sea to the engines who visit (in this episode's case, Bill and Ben). Cranky, as his name implies, is a cranky harbor crane who works both day and night, never getting a rest (which becomes a plot point in this episode), and he doesn't particularly enjoy listening to Salty's stories.
- The Insomniac: Cranky, due in part to having to work hard both day and night. Not even when work at the docks is delayed due to a fallen shed does he get a break, due to having to listen to Salty's stories all night.
- Motor Mouth: Salty. He spends the whole night telling stories to Bill, Ben, and Cranky, and continues talking the next morning. Poor Cranky is relieved when Harvey arrives to clear away the fallen shed.
- Oh, Crap!: Cranky's reaction when he realize he accidentally knocked over the shed.
- Stock Footage: A few scenes from Cranky's debut episode, "Cranky Bugs" are used in this episode, namely the scene where Cranky plays a trick on Thomas, and the scene where the old tramp steamer crashes through the dock.
