Air date: August 29th, 2004 (UK), October 3rd, 2004 (US)
One summer morning, the Fat Controller comes to see Emily, stating that he is opening new routes for the summer. He tasks Emily with the job of transporting flour during the summer, which makes her very happy.
Later that day, Emily meets James at the water tower and tells him of her new job. James says Emily is lucky, as he has been given the job of carrying passengers along the Black Loch branch line. He responds that there are frequent landslides and a monster rumoured to be living in the loch, known as the "Black Loch Monster". He nervously adds that nobody knows what the monster is, only that black figures move in the water and disappear. James sets off for work, leaving Emily nervous about the route, but pleased she does not have to run it.
Emily arrives at the flour mill to collect the flour trucks to take to Knapford Station, but the Troublesome Trucks decide to cause trouble. As Emily pulls them as hard as she can, the trucks hold her back, making her very late delivering the flour. The Fat Controller is cross that there will be no fresh bread for that day, and warns Emily if she is late again, she and James will transfer duties. This leaves Emily nervous about the boulders and the Black Loch Monster, and she tells herself that she must be on time with the flour tomorrow.
The next morning, the Troublesome Trucks decide to trick her again, as they are not coupled up properly. Emily hurries to the station, but she only brings half of the flour trucks. When she realises this, she rushes back to the mill as fast as she can. After she arrives, the trucks tease her, calling her a late engine. This ends up with Emily losing her temper and she biffs the trucks very hard. However, because she cannot see where she is going, the trucks derail and splash into the duck pond, and Emily is covered in a floury mess.
That evening, Thomas and Emily are at Knapford Station with the Fat Controller, who is very cross with Emily's lateness. He therefore tells her she is now to be transferred to Black Loch, leaving her very unhappy. Thomas kindly says that Black Loch may be a nice route, but with what Emily has heard, she does not think so.
The next morning, Emily sadly arrives at Maithwaite Station, where her passengers are waiting. Emily realises they are looking forward to their holiday, so she decides to be brave and do her job. But as she reaches Black Loch, she looks down at the water and remembers the monster. At that moment, a landslide comes down in front of her, leaving her stuck. Then, Emily notices something black moving through the water towards her, and she realises it is the Black Loch Monster. Emily is now frightened and shakes with fear, declaring she never wants to see Black Loch again, but then she thinks of the children in her coaches, and she realises she must get them to their holiday whatever it takes. At that moment, the water settles down, and she can see what the monster really is: a family of seals. She and the children are delighted, and soon the line is clear, and Emily can get the children to their holiday on time.
That evening, Thomas and Emily are both at the Loch, watching the seals. Emily tells Thomas that he was right, in that Black Loch is a nice route after all.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Butt-Monkey: Emily. Thanks to the trucks' antics, nothing goes her way throughout the episode — first, they slow her down and make her late, then, some of them are not coupled properly the second time, and to top it all off, the remaining trucks tease her about being late and she bashes them and gets covered in flour in the process. And if that wasn't enough, the Fat Controller transfers her to Black Loch, and having remembered what James told her about Black Loch, she is left feeling terrified.
- Jerkass: The Troublesome Trucks, as usual, going out of their way to antagonize Emily at the flour mill.
- Laser-Guided Karma: The three trucks causing trouble for Emily end up pushed into a duck pond.
- Oh, Crap!: Unlike most instances where the trucks antagonize an engine and get away with it, this time Emily retaliates and biffs the trucks into a duck pond. The trucks react with horror to this.
- The Freelance Shame Squad: The trucks mock Emily for being late with her flour deliveries.
- Violent Glaswegian: Emily displays this by pushing the three trucks who tease her for being late into a duck pond.
- What the Hell, Hero?: The Fat Controller scolds Emily for being late with her flour delivery (though this is due to the trucks' antics), and then scolds her for pushing the trucks into a duck pond.
