Air date: November 21st, 2014 (UK)
Thomas is puffing along his branch line, when Bertie pulls up alongside him and teases him by calling him "Slow Coach." Thomas then gets cross and decides to go faster. Thomas arrives at Dryaw Station two minutes early. Bertie tells him that he would have been late unless he had hurried him. Thomas disagrees, as he always gets his passengers to the station on time, yet Bertie seems to always be beating Thomas to the level crossing, so the two engines decide to race again. Sometimes when they race, Bertie is quicker, especially when Thomas has to stop for sheep on the line and sometimes Thomas is quicker, especially when Bertie has to stop for road maintenance.
Thomas gets closer and closer to the level crossing, thinking he is going to win, when suddenly, the gates open and Bertie zooms through. Later, the two friends are at Dryaw Station, when Bertie reveals that he has been re-routed, so now he takes a shortcut, which is why he is always winning the races. That night at Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas tells Percy about Bertie being re-routed and Percy tells him that maybe he should take a shortcut too and Thomas thinks that is a great idea. The next day, Thomas sets off on his branch line, looking for a shortcut, when he comes to a junction, where the points have already been switched. Thomas puffs onto the track, only to find himself coming back out onto his branch line.
Thomas comes to another junction, where he once again puffs onto the track there. However, this time he ends up in an old goods yard. The passengers are cross, but Thomas keeps looking. Soon, he comes up to yet another junction, with a track leading right into the woods. Thomas thinks that this must be a shortcut and once again, he puffs onto the track there. Meanwhile, Bertie is waiting impatiently at the level crossing and decides to take off. Thomas continues puffing along the overgrown track, which is leading him to a destination, when suddenly, Thomas crashes straight through some buffers, where he finds himself dangling over the road. The passengers are very disappointed, as now they will be late.
Just then, Bertie pulls up right by him and offers to take Thomas' passengers for him. The passengers agree and they all board Bertie, who then sets off immediately. It is sundown when Harvey arrives to lift Thomas back onto the rails. The Fat Controller arrives as well, who confronts Thomas for making his passengers late. Thomas promises to stick to his branch line from now on. A few days later, Thomas is back and Annie and Clarabel are delighted to see him. Bertie races away and calls him "Slow Coach" again. Thomas and Bertie still like to have races and sometimes Thomas even wins.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Animation Bump: The expression on Thomas' face as he is impatiently letting his passengers off and vice versa is more fluid and detailed.
- The Big Race: Thomas and Bertie have one near the beginning.
- The Bus Came Back: This episode marks the first appearance of Harvey since "Saved You!" in the twelth season.
- Just Train Wrong: At the beginning and the end when Thomas sees Bertie, he is driving on the rightmost track; since the Island of Sodor is part of the British Isles, he should be driving on the leftmost or middle track.
