new engine house there. This was followed in the next few years by a variety of repair and maintenance shops, which were all relocated from sites in Providence. An early form of railroad signaling was completed on the joint P&W-B&P line through Providence and Pawtucket in 1882, and upon proving successful it was expanded to the entire P&W main line by 1884, making the P&W the very first American railroad to fully signalize its main line with electric signals. End of independence From the 1870s onward, several railroad companies in New England began a wave of consolidation, leasing or merging other lines to form large networks. The P&W ignored this trend, although it had opportunities to combine with several of its connections at Worcester. The first of the larger companies to approach the P&W was the Stonington Line (formally the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad), the Providence and Worcester's southern connection in Providence. In February 1888, the Stonington Line announced plans to lease the Providence and Worcester Railroad, effective May 1, 1888, subject to approval by shareholders of both companies. The Stonington Line agreed to pay $310,000 ($ in 2021) per year, plus up to $50,000 a year in stock-related payments, in exchange for the lease. As part of the lease, the Stonington also agreed to maintain all P&W trackage and equipment to high standards. A member of the special committee appointed by the P&W board of directors, at the vote to ratify the lease, noted that "there were 372 women stockholders, representing 8,975 shares, equivalent at par to $897,500 – a peculiar holding which was not found in any other corporation in the country". Both railroads' stockholders and boards of directors approved the lease, with P&W shareholders unanimously in favor, and in May 1888, the Providence and Worcester ceased to be an independent railroad. As part of the Stonington Line, operations were changed little, apart from integration with the P&W's new lessee as the "Worcester Division". Control by the Stonington Line lasted only a few years, as wealthy financer J. P. Morgan had aspirations to build a railroad empire, and both the Stonington Line and the Old Colony Railroad were in his sights. Acting through J.P. Morgan & Co., he bought control of both companies' stocks, and had them leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (commonly known as the New Haven), which he held