the New Haven's local lines in Meriden to Lake Compounce, intersecting the ends of Waterbury and New Britain lines at Milldale and Southington. A continuous route between Stratford and Waterbury via Derby and Seymour was completed in 1907 by lessor Naugatuck Valley Electric Railway. The New Haven came to an agreement with the United Gas Improvement Company on December 19, 1906, whereby the Consolidated Railway leased the property of the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company, and acquired the stock of the Meriden, Southington and Compounce Tramway, Rhode Island Company, and various power companies operating in Connecticut. Formation of the Connecticut Company in 1907 Expansion continued with the acquisition by the Consolidated Railway of control of the Waterbury and Pomperaug Valley Street Railway (Waterbury-Woodbury) on April 20, 1907 and the Thomaston Tramway (Waterbury-Thomaston) on May 29, 1907. Two days later, on May 31, the Consolidated was merged into the New Haven, and the Thomaston Tramway was renamed Connecticut Company, becoming the operator of all of the New Haven's electric railway properties formerly operated by the Consolidated. The Columbia Traction Company, which owned no railway but valuable charter privileges relating to power generation, was acquired by the New Haven on June 24 and merged with the Connecticut Company on June 30, 1909. The property of subsidiaries formerly controlled by the Consolidated was also conveyed to the New Haven for operation by the Connecticut Company, including the Meriden, Southington and Compounce Tramway (June 29, 1907), the Torrington and Winchester Street Railway (June 29, 1907), the Farmington Street Railway (December 31, 1907), and the Stafford Springs Street Railway (June 30, 1908). This left the New Haven as owner of all the property operated by the Connecticut Company except for that owned by the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company, as well as the portion of the coastal line in West Haven owned by the West Shore Railway, which had been leased to the Fair Haven and Westville Railroad prior to its acquisition in 1904, and the short South Manchester Light, Power and Tramway Company, similarly leased to the Hartford, Manchester and Rockville Tramway. The largest expansions of the system were made by electrifying various existing steam lines of the New Haven and running trolleys over them, providing connections in 1906 from Middletown west to Meriden and north to Cromwell, connecting at the latter point with a new rural trolley line to Hartford, and a link