Air Date: September 9th, 1998
One Summer's Day, Bertie asks Thomas and Percy if they have noticed something different about the Fat Controller. Percy tells Bertie that he saw the Fat Controller staring into the clouds this morning and he wonders why. It is Lady Hatt's birthday and the Fat Controller has a brand new outfit to wear especially for the party. Lady Hatt tells him not to be late and he tells her that he will be spic and span and right on time.
The Fat Controller is leaving work early to attend the party at Kirk Ronan. He tells the stationmaster that he will be taking his car as the engines are busy. He thinks it is reliable, but it is not. His mood soon changes when his car becomes stuck in a pothole with a flat tyre. He decides not to risk changing it because it will dirty his suit and it will never do for his wife's party.
The Fat Controller then sees Caroline and explains the situation and hitches a lift in her, but Caroline does not like going fast and her engine overheats. George the Steamroller then arrives and insults Caroline, but his driver is more polite to the Fat Controller and offers him a ride to Thomas, who is just down the line and he agrees, promising Caroline that he will send for help. George enjoys rolling along the road, but not the Fat Controller, who quickly becomes covered in oil. Worse is to follow; George cries for help, slips out of control due to a malfunction and ends up into a muddy ditch close to where Thomas is taking on water and the Fat Controller catapults and ends up waist-deep in the mud.
Thomas has never seen the Fat Controller in such a mess and he asks Thomas' driver for a ride, but Thomas' fireman had taken ill, so the Fat Controller offers to be Thomas' relief fireman. He works hard and coal dust and soot fly everywhere and at last, Thomas arrives at Kirk Ronan, just in time. The Fat Controller quickly buys a bunch of flowers for the party and as the clock strikes three, he arrives, tired but triumphant. He gives his wife the flowers and she is most grateful and states that she knows it is her special birthday party, but not know that it was 'fancy dress.' Everyone laughs and then the party begins.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- A Day in the Limelight: This is the Fat Controller's first episode centered around him.
- The Alleged Car: Caroline. When she tries to take The Fat Controller to his wife's birthday party, her engine overheats as a result of her driver driving her too fast. She soon breaks down, and when George comes across her, he calls her a disgrace to the road and tells her to find herself a scrapyard.
- Big Damn Heroes: Two in quick succession. Thomas manages to get Sir Topham Hatt to the party on time, along with Sir Topham filling in for Thomas' ill fireman.
- Birthday Episode: Lady Hatt's birthday, to be precise.
- Butt-Monkey: The Fat Controller. Caroline and George also fail and crash.
- Determinator: The Fat Controller. No matter what goes wrong, he stops at nothing to get to his wife's birthday party, including his rides breaking down and getting his new suit ruined by oil, mud, and coal dust.
- Didn't Think This Through: The Fat Controller hitched a ride with Caroline to avoid having to change his tyre, worrying he'd get his suit dirty if he did. This leads him down the chain of events that lead to his suit getting completely wrecked. Had he just bit the bullet and changed the tyre his suit would have been significantly less dirty.
- Drives Like Crazy: Not intentionally, but every vehicle that the Fat Controller hitches a ride in, save for Thomas, breaks down or crashes.
- Doomed New Clothes: The suit that The Fat Controller is wearing to his wife's birthday party ends up getting muddy throughout the uncomfortable journey.
- Door-Closes Ending: The episode ends this way after Sir Topham Hatt finally makes it to the party.
- Jerkass: George who insults Caroline for breaking down.George: Call yourself a car? You're a disgrace to the road! Find yourself a scrapyard!
- Laser-Guided Karma: For George at least, who malfunctions and crashes into a pond after insulting Caroline.
- Lower-Deck Episode: This episode puts more focus on the human characters rather than the engines, and has The Fat Controller as the main character.
- Not So Above It All: This episode is the first time The Fat Controller gets moments where his day becomes disastrous.
- Rule of Three: Sir Topham Hatt's car breaks down, then Caroline's engine overheats, and finally George goes out of control.
- Southern Belle: Caroline in the US Narration.
