Air date: November 4th, 2005
Thomas is initially jealous when he sees that James has received brand new trucks but is soon delighted when told his trucks are too old to use and he will have to use new ones.
Thomas and James become competitive about keeping their trucks clean, but at the Quarry, the trucks bump forward and get covered in dust. Thomas orders his trucks to behave, but they ignore him and get Thomas and themselves showered in coal.
James laughs that Thomas will never win, but Thomas realises that if he uses his old trucks, he will not have to worry about getting them dirty. Thomas collects some coal and sets off, but on the way a coupling breaks and Thomas goes ahead of the trucks. He stops too soon, and the trucks crash into him and are smashed to pieces, flinging coal everywhere.
Harvey and the workmen clear up the mess, while Thomas collects his new trucks, has the coal loaded into them, and arrives at Brendam Docks without the trucks making any trouble. James gloats his victory but then is hit by a falling crate of melons. Thomas tells James that trucks prefer to be useful than clean, and the trucks giggle in agreement.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Break the Haughty: After all of his boasting and bragging about having the cleanest trucks, James is then hit by a falling crate of melons.
- The Dandy: James, as usual, who boasts about having the cleanest trucks. Thomas strives to have trucks cleaner than James', but then realizes that the trucks are better off useful than clean.
- Karmic Butt-Monkey: James' trucks as well as Thomas' laugh at James being covered in melons, fitting seeing as James has spent the whole episode bragging about cleanliness.
- Laser-Guided Karma: James spends the entire episode teasing Thomas for being dirty and boasting about how clean his trucks are. This episode ends with James' trucks holding him back, causing James to get hit by a crate of melons that Cranky accidentally drops.
- Rail-Car Separation: Not wanting to get his new trucks dirty again, Thomas decides to use his old trucks for his job of delivering coal. As Thomas travels across the island, the rusty coupling of the first truck breaks, causing the trucks to roll by themselves. When Thomas applies his brakes, he stops too quickly, causing his trucks to bump into him, destroying themselves and spilling coal all over the tracks.
- What the Hell, Hero?: The Fat Controller reprimands Thomas for using his old trucks which led to the trucks being destroyed after crashing into Thomas and flinging coal over the tracks.
