In 1895, after it acquired control of the New York and New England Railroad, the New Haven controlled almost 90% of the steam railroad mileage in Connecticut. That same year, it gained control of its first street railway, the Stamford Street Railroad, on about April 1. That company, which operated local lines in the city of Stamford, was in bad shape financially, and the owners of a majority of its stocks and bonds, wishing to get rid of their investments, found a willing buyer in the New Haven. The second acquisition was also a local system, the Meriden Electric Railroad in Meriden, which the New Haven bought on October 18, 1895, from its president.