The engines on the Fat Controller's Railway were not in the best of moods. They had been told the Duke and Duchess of Boxford were coming to visit the Island, and of course, Spencer would be with them.

"He'll be sure to trip us up in some way," complained Percy.

"Never fear, Percy, for we Sodor engines have shown him up twice already and we can do it again," boasted Gordon. With that, Percy had to be content.

Later, Thomas was racing along the line. The wind whistled around his funnel as he puffed, and Annie and Clarabel sang happily:

Let's have a race, have a race have a race
Let's see who is the quickest
Who can be the fastest?
Get set
Go!

They were soon cut off when Thomas noticed Spencer standing by a signal.

"I say, you there," called Spencer. Thomas stopped.

"What is it, Spencer?"

"Be a good little shunter and shunt my carriages for me!"

"Fine, but it'll have to wait," snapped Thomas. Thomas brought Annie and Clarabel back to the carriage sheds, and returned to collect Spencer's coaches.

Spencer noticed that Thomas was taking his time. This caused him to grow impatient.

"I'm faster, shinier, and stronger than you are, Thomas. You're just a little tank engine."

"And you're just the worst example of an A4 Pacific I've ever seen," muttered Thomas under his breath. Luckily, Spencer didn't hear this comment and Thomas set off.

Thomas gently buffered up to the carriages and brought them to the sheds. He arrived back at Tidmouth to find Spencer and the other engines waiting.

"What took you so long," gloated Spencer, "as an A4 Pacific, I outrank you, Thomas. In fact, I'm better than the whole lot of you! Any one can shunt trucks, but only a special engine like myself can carry the Duke and Duchess."

"Pah!" growled Gordon, "I took the Queen many years ago!"

The next day, Thomas set off to work, determined to prove Spencer wrong. He had to collect some trucks from the smelter's yard, and so he decided to increase his speed. The driver and fireman in Thomas' cab held on for dear life as he rocketed along the line.

Thomas had only gone this fast before once, and that was when some workmen had forgotten to uncouple him from Gordon's Express.

"Slow down," shrieked Daisy as Thomas sped by her," there's a bend ahead!"

"Whoa!", wailed Thomas as the driver applied the brakes.

He decided to try to be shinier than Spencer. The men at the washdown worked hard, scrubbing and polishing Thomas until he shone like gold.

"Now I'll be even shinier than that stuck-up Spencer," thought Thomas to himself.

Just then a workman arrived with a message from the Fat Controller.

"Thomas, the Fat Controller wants you to help Mavis shunt trucks in the quarry. It's urgent!"

Thomas arrived and saw Mavis, Bill and Ben waiting for him.

"My, don't you look shiny, Thomas," purred Mavis. Thomas beamed with pride. Soon, his trucks were filled with stone, and Thomas himself was covered in quarry dust.

"Oh botheration, I've suddenly lost all my sparkle!" said Thomas, not intending to sound like Mr. Conductor in "Thomas and the Magic Railroad." However, his driver and fireman just laughed.

Thomas sadly left the quarry and soon approached Gordon's Hill. "I've never tried to climb Gordon's Hill with such a heavy load before," panted Thomas.

"Yes, you have," replied his driver, "don't you remember the time you tried to take the train loaded with toys to the toy shop at Knapford?" Just like the last time, Thomas found himself slipping down the hill.

The next day, Thomas came to a decision.

"I don't want to be faster, shinier, or stronger than Spencer. I just want to shunt trucks." Just then, the Fat Controller arrived.

"There's an emergency, Thomas! The Duke of Boxford is needed back on the Mainland. He has some very important matters to attend to. Where are his coaches?"

"They're in the carriage shed, Sir," replied Thomas, "I'll shunt them to the front of the yard."

"Well done, Thomas, that's a good engine!" smiled the Fat Controller.

Thomas collected the important carriages, and brought them back to the sheds. He noticed that Spencer's boiler was still cold.

"You may be the fastest, shiniest and strongest engine, but you're also the slowest at getting fired up," teased Thomas cheekily. The Duke turned to his private engine.

"Why aren't you ready, Spencer? Do you want me to miss my aeroplane?"

Spencer said nothing, so the Duke turned to Thomas.

"Thomas," he said, "I need you to take me to the airport."

"I'd be honored to, Sir," puffed Thomas.

With that, the workmen fitted the Duke's crest on Thomas' boiler and he chuffed grandly and majestically away. The smile on Thomas' face was as bright as his paintwork, and in no time at all, he reached the airport.

"Wow, Thomas! That was quite an entrance," called Jeremy from across the runway.

"There's nothing better than an engine you can rely on," smiled the Duke, "and that's you, Thomas." As Thomas watched Jeremy fly away, he remembered what the Fat Controller had told him all those years ago: You can never be as strong and as fast as Gordon (or in this case Spencer), but you can be a Really Useful Engine!