Air date: September 19th, 2008 (UK), November 22nd, 2008 (US)
Some workmen and a group of VIPs are waiting at Great Waterton. Gordon tries to take a shortcut to beat Stanley there, but when he ignores advice from Duck, Oliver, and Toad he ends up getting lost. After derailing Ben's log truck, spilling logs onto Stanley's line, he realises that trying to take a shortcut hadn't been such a good idea after all. Gordon knows he must stop Stanley from hitting the logs, so he asks for advice from the other engines on how to get down to Stanley's line. He manages to stop Stanley just in time. The two go to Great Waterton, and as a sign of friendship, Gordon allows Stanley to take the VIPs.
Tropes featured in the episodes:
- The Bus Came Back: Toad makes his first appearance since "Snow Engine" way back in Series 7.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While Gordon is dismissive of Stanley and thinks he shouldn't be taking the VIPs, he still tries and stop him before he crashes into the logs he spilled onto his line. He even lets Stanley take the VIPs after to make up for his near miss.
- Leave Me Alone!: Gordon refuses to let Duck, Oliver, and Toad help him find his way at first. This changes after Stanley is in trouble and he desperately needs to fix his mistake.
- Shortcuts Make Long Delays: Gordon spends the whole day trying to take shortcuts only to get more and more lost. Things go from bad to worse when his shortcuts cause him to crash into Ben's log truck and block Stanley's line.
