Air date: October 7th, 2003 (UK), October 24th, 2003 (US)
During the autumn, Percy is puffing along Toby's old line with a train of tomatoes to take to market. But suddenly, he crosses over a wobbly section of track. His driver inspects the line and sees that the earth under the track is crumbling. Percy decides to tell the Fat Controller.
Later, Percy steams into the yard and announces that the track on Toby's line is wobbly. Gordon grumbles and tells him that the track being wobbly is not important news and leaves, thus Percy is briefly annoyed as he thinks that Gordon does not want to listen to him.
Next, Percy tries to tell the Fat Controller, but he does not listen to him either as he is too busy talking to Thomas. The Fat Controller tells Thomas to go and collect the prize bull from the farm on Toby's line, which prompts Percy to warn the Fat Controller that the line is wobbly, but he dismisses this thinking that it is fine. Percy, briefly annoyed again, begins to think that at this point, nobody cares to listen to him.
Thomas collects the bull and sets off on his way. It is raining and the tracks are wobblier than ever. Up ahead, a landslide occurs right in front of Thomas. He tries to stop but runs into the soft dirt and gets stuck.
Later that night, Percy is worried that Thomas has not returned to the sheds yet. Gordon and James take no notice, but Percy's driver believes him, and they set off to find Thomas.
The tracks wobble as Percy puffs along, but he is determined. At last, he finds Thomas buried under the dirt. The two friends are very happy to see each other. Percy pulls Thomas out and helps him get back home.
When they arrive at the station during the daytime, the Fat Controller is waiting. Thomas announces that Percy saved him, and even the bull agrees. The Fat Controller apologises to Percy and promises that everyone will do a better job of listening to him in the future. Percy is very pleased to hear this.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Cassandra Truth: Percy warns everyone that Toby's line is unsafe, but no one, even The Fat Controller, believes him. Percy's warnings come true when Thomas gets caught in a landslide.
- Easily Forgiven: Percy immediately forgives Sir Topham Hatt when he apologises for not believing him.
- Help, I'm Stuck!: Thomas gets stuck in the mud and Percy has to pull him out.
- Jerkass: Gordon and James, who rudely brush off Percy's warnings. Gordon also makes a rude remark that the tracks are just as old as Toby.
- Laser-Guided Karma: A minor one; Thomas is among those who do not believe Percy about the landslide, and he soon gets stuck in it and has to be rescued by Percy.
- Not Now, Kiddo: No one, not even the Fat Controller, listens to Percy when he tries to warn them about the wobbly tracks on Toby's line.
- Series Continuity Error: Due to the use of Stock Footage, the first scene of the episode shows Annie and Clarabel in their pre-restored states, despite the fact they were refurbished in "Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday".
- Stock Footage: This episode begins with a scene from "Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday" where Thomas travels through a hay field while pulling Annie and Clarabel. This creates a continuity error, as Annie and Clarabel are in a run-down state in that clip and are restored to their former glory at the end of that episode.
