Percy wants a scarf to keep warm. He gets his wish when a prank backfires and a pair of the Fat Controller's trousers become tangled around his funnel.

Percy tells Thomas he'll take his trainload of the vicar's Sunday schoolers home for him, but has to do so in a fierce storm that makes him blind to where he's going and too cold and wet to run.

With work-schedules so busy, Gordon is ordered to take some time off and James is eager to replace him to show how fast and good he is. When Toby is stranded on his way for repairs, he has to trust James to help him.

Gordon is jealous of a visiting train and insults ones like him after he leaves, but gets in an embarrassing situation soon after while trying to go as fast as the visitor can.

Duck is given his own branch line and won't stop boasting about it. Eventually, Donald loses patience and starts teasing Duck. Thanks to his driver and fireman, Duck is able to get his own back, but it's Donald who has the last laugh.

Thomas has a habit of slowing by a bridge to enjoy children's company and Percy hints he may be gotten rid of, but he helps a stranded of group of them return home and worries after that, and when a bad rail strands him.

Percy's teasing Thomas about fear doesn't last when he's stuck outside for the night, and goes from being nervous to frightened when he thinks the Chinese dragon Thomas takes to a carnival is a real beast.

Percy and Duck have too much work at the harbor, so help is called in. But it turns out to be Duck's old enemy, Diesel. They're forced to give him a chance, but have to decide whether to speak up when he acts roughly and causes trouble, resulting in his second expulsion.

Henry loves visiting the forest he, Toby, Terrence, and Trevor helped plant years before. But he is saddened when a storm destroys some of it, and neither Toby nor anybody else can figure out how to cheer him up.

Gordon refuses to have himself cleaned every day since he only wishes to be on time, but lands himself in trouble when he sprays James with mud and loses some of his work for being dirty, so is forced to help him when he can't work alone.

James annoys the others with his boasting so to prove himself to Gordon, he tells him he'll be doing more important work. His trick gets him to take coaches and Gordon stuck with freight-trucks - and in trouble and shame for it.

Thomas and Percy are upset to hear the mail-train they both drive will be replaced with airmail when the mail-boat is late to them, so try to save it by going at extra speed.

Gordon convinces James to pretend being sick so he won't have to shunt. Thomas is forced to deal with the cruel trucks, while trying to keep his promise to get tar delivered so Bertie's road can run more smoothly.

Mavis is a young diesel who is full of her own ideas. One day, she ignores wise old Toby's advice and causes chaos at a crossing.

Mavis is bitter about not being allowed on Toby's line, but when she asks the troublesome trucks to push her onto it, they do it to Toby instead. Toby is then put in grave danger when he is pushed onto a weak bridge.

James ignores Boco's warnings to him and Trevor about handling bees carefully, and boasts how he'd deal roughly with any that stung him. But his words don't come in handy when a broken hive he delivers makes it so he can't get rid of them.

Duck loves to watch sailboats at the harbor and wonders what it's like to go elsewhere when Harold tells him he's been there, until he annoys Percy by discussing his wishes. But he's reminded of how good his work is by helping Harold.

A mistake handling their turntable cause Bill and Ben to blame each other for the confusion, until their argument makes everyone else upset enough with their fighting to trick them so they'll be forced to work among each other.

Gordon wishes he had extra tenders, especially when the others warn him against taking too many resources for himself and Diesel acts better than steam engines. Henry wishes so too, so Duck fools him into getting what he thinks he wants.

When Edward points out to Douglas that Trevor was spared from becoming scrap-metal and that help is needed, Douglas, who narrowly escaped the fate himself, is inspired that night to rescue Oliver, a stranded steam-engine, from diesels.

Oliver gets high praise from the other engines and becomes too proud to listen to Duck's warning about being careful with trucks when he's asked to handle them for his next job. He pays dearly for it.

Oliver and Duck are angry when a rude bus who hates engines, "Bulgy", and a friend trick their passengers into going with him instead by falsely claiming they can go quicker, but Duck follows him to see him getting himself into trouble.

Bill and Ben mistrust a group of trucks into telling them how to set up things at the harbor station so get in trouble for the mix-up. When a rock-slide suddenly strikes the quarry, they're worried they'll be blamed for it, too.

James is rude and doesn't care that Percy's freight-trucks are the reason he's late, so Percy is smug when James' brakes stick and he has to help. Trying to hurry himself to show off, he gets into an embarrassing accident with the cargo.

Thomas and Percy aren't happy about dividing the jobs of mail-delivery and visiting a village for Christmas, but things are worse for everybody when they find out that the village is cut off by snow.