Carly the new crane is so keen that she takes on all the work. After Cranky finds himself with nothing to do, he works harder and faster in a bid to keep up with her. But as the two cranes frantically try to outdo one another, their hooks become entangled and they find themselves stuck fast and unable to move...

When Bertie breaks down while they are racing, Thomas takes on his passengers. One elderly man says that Bertie always drops him off between stops. Soon Thomas is getting requests for lots of other unscheduled stops, which makes him run late and upsets his own passengers and the Fat Controller.

When he is teased about having 68 painted on his side, Philip tries to discover why he was given that number. Later, when he manages to avoid an accident after 68 sheep stray onto the line, Philip decides it is his lucky number!