After being sent for maintenance, Thomas is awaiting his final inspection. After Emily exits the shed, James laughs at Thomas and jokes that he has broken down, annoying him. Then the Fat Controller comes to see if he is ready to collect the school choir for a concert. Thomas replies he's nearly ready, but the Fat Controller warns him that being nearly ready is not good enough. Thomas knows that if he is not ready yet, the choir will get taken by somebody else, so he does not listen to him by acting like he is ready and heads off to collect the choir without his final inspection. He soon begins to make very unusual noises, which makes Annie and Clarabel wonder if something is wrong, but Thomas is too excited to care.
At Knapford, Thomas arrives to collect the school choir. Emily notices the noise and asks who is making it. Realising it is Thomas, she asks if he had his final inspection. Thomas, annoyed again, just says he is fine, and he sets off to deliver the children. But when he stops at a signal, he is red in the face and feels really tired. Toby asks if Thomas took on enough water at the fitter's yard, but once again, Thomas, even more annoyed, claims that nothing is wrong with him.
At a level crossing, just after Bertie drives through it, Thomas starts to billow black smoke as he sees Percy. He also asks if everything is alright, but Thomas still refuses to admit that there is something wrong with him. Then he slows down, diverts to a siding, and while grinding to a halt he breaks down. Thomas feels awful, thinking he has let everybody down. He sees Gordon, who wants to help, but he is too busy pulling the express. Then Thomas hears James; James finds it very funny that he has actually broken down, but he promises to get the choir to the concert on time. Later, Henry comes and takes Thomas back to the repair yard to be mended properly. At the repair yard, he is repaired and has his final inspection, before going back to collect the choir to take them home.
Going by production order, this is the twenty-first episode of the eleventh series.
This episode shares its title with the twenty-second episode of the first series, Thomas in Trouble. This is the third time this has happened in the UK, after Fish and Dirty Work, and this is the second time this occurrence is exclusive to the UK version, after Dirty Work.
This episode marks the last appearance of Thomas' depressed and upset face, Gordon's guilty face, James' content and grinning (rare picture only) face, Percy's shocked face, Emily's annoyed face and Bertie's chuckling face (excluding the The Great Discovery appearance).
This episode marks the a few things for Annie and Clarabel:
Their last speaking roles until Blue Mountain Mystery and the last time they are voiced by Saori Gotō in the Japanese dub. Sakura Yoshioka would later take over the roles starting with said special.