Air Date: September 30th, 2002 (UK), July 22nd, 2003 (US)
Henry ends up having an accident pulling a goods train thanks to some Troublesome Trucks and is sent to the works to be mended, and the Fat Controller tells the engines that Diesel is the only spare engine available. The engines are not very happy about this, seeing that they know Diesel is troublesome. Percy and Thomas both hope that Henry is mended soon, claiming Henry moves more trucks than three diesels put together, while Gordon declares that trucks are no one's friends.
The next day, as Diesel is working at the docks, he brags to the trucks that when the Fat Controller sees how good he is at shunting trucks, he will get rid of steam engines once and for all. The Troublesome Trucks suddenly have an idea, so they tease Diesel over this as he is shunting them, saying how Henry can move more trucks than he can shunt. This makes Diesel cross, so he decides that he will push them all at the same time, claiming himself as the world's strongest engine.
Diesel arranges a line of twenty trucks and couples up to them, but unbeknownst to him, a shunter has put the brakes on the trucks, which they already know about. Despite this, the trucks encourage Diesel to push them anyway, but with his efforts to move them, the trucks do not move, so he decides to pull them instead. As he pulls, the trucks sing at him, making Diesel very cross. He pulls even harder, but he pulls so hard that he breaks his coupling from the trucks, and he runs out of control, falling off the quay and landing onto a barge containing flour bags. Diesel is disgusted and humiliated by the predicament, as all the trucks laugh at him.
Henry, who is now repaired, arrives at the docks with the Fat Controller, who is very cross with Diesel and sends him home in disgrace for insulting the steam trains. He adds that he thought Diesel would be a proper dockyard diesel, but he was proven wrong. He asks Henry to make up for lost time, and Henry is happy to do so. Henry reverses to the other end of the train and then backs up to the trucks. After the shunters set the brakes off, Henry pulls away from the docks, pulling the line of trucks as easy as pie, and the engines all cheer. Thomas and Percy agree that even trucks can be helpful to the engines sometimes, such as helping to get rid of Diesel.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Batman Gambit: The trucks come up with a rather crafty plan to boot Diesel off the railway again; they tease him for shunting so few trucks and egg him to push them all, playing on his ego. Diesel, provoked, agrees and arranges a long line of 20 trucks... with all their brakes on. The trucks know this, but encourage Diesel to push anyway. When that fails, he tries pulling them, and the trucks piss him off further with their chants. Diesel eventually breaks his coupling and careens straight into a barge. The Fat Controller promptly sends him back in disgrace, and even Thomas and Percy seem quite amazed with just how willing the trucks were to get rid of Diesel.
- Break the Haughty: This happens to Diesel after breaking the truck's coupling and falling onto a barge. It's even worse when The Fat Controller sends him away in disgrace.
- Didn't Think This Through: When Diesel tries to pull his heavy line of trucks, he apparently forgot or failed to notice that the track he's on leads directly to the edge of a pier. Guess what happens next?
- Enemy Mine: In the end of the episode, Thomas and Percy lampshade the Aesop that even the troublesome trucks can do an engine a favor, especially if it's getting rid of Diesel.
- The Freelance Shame Squad: All the trucks laughed at Diesel for his predicament.
- Oh, Crap!: As soon as the coupling between Diesel and the first truck broke:Diesel: (running towards the edge of the pier) HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!!!!!! (he then lands in a barge filled with flour) Grease and oil!
