diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index aaacbce8c6..361074dce6 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -31,3 +31,5 @@ if ENV['CI']
     gem "test-unit", ">= 2.0.5"
   end
 end
+
+disable_system_gems
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/actionpack/lib/action_controller/rails.rb b/actionpack/lib/action_controller/rails.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c2d753f9ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/actionpack/lib/action_controller/rails.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+module ActionController
+  class Plugin < Rails::Plugin
+    plugin_name :action_controller
+
+    initializer "action_controller.set_configs" do |app|
+      app.config.action_controller.each do |k,v|
+        ActionController::Base.send "#{k}=", v
+      end
+    end
+
+    # TODO: ActionController::Base.logger should delegate to its own config.logger
+    initializer "action_controller.logger" do
+      ActionController::Base.logger ||= Rails.logger
+    end
+
+    # Routing must be initialized after plugins to allow the former to extend the routes
+    # ---
+    # If Action Controller is not one of the loaded frameworks (Configuration#frameworks)
+    # this does nothing. Otherwise, it loads the routing definitions and sets up
+    # loading module used to lazily load controllers (Configuration#controller_paths).
+    initializer "action_controller.initialize_routing" do |app|
+      app.route_configuration_files << app.config.routes_configuration_file
+      app.route_configuration_files << app.config.builtin_routes_configuration_file
+      app.reload_routes!
+    end
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/activerecord/lib/active_record/rails.rb b/activerecord/lib/active_record/rails.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4071385563
--- /dev/null
+++ b/activerecord/lib/active_record/rails.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# For now, action_controller must always be present with
+# rails, so let's make sure that it gets required before
+# here. This is needed for correctly setting up the middleware.
+# In the future, this might become an optional require.
+require "action_controller/rails"
+
+module ActiveRecord
+  class Plugin < Rails::Plugin
+    plugin_name :active_record
+
+    initializer "active_record.set_configs" do |app|
+      app.config.active_record.each do |k,v|
+        ActiveRecord::Base.send "#{k}=", v
+      end
+    end
+
+    # This sets the database configuration from Configuration#database_configuration
+    # and then establishes the connection.
+    initializer "active_record.initialize_database" do |app|
+      ActiveRecord::Base.configurations = app.config.database_configuration
+      ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection
+    end
+
+    initializer "active_record.initialize_timezone" do
+      ActiveRecord::Base.time_zone_aware_attributes = true
+      ActiveRecord::Base.default_timezone = :utc
+    end
+
+    # Setup database middleware after initializers have run
+    initializer "active_record.initialize_database_middleware" do |app|
+      middleware = app.config.middleware
+      if middleware.include?(ActiveRecord::SessionStore)
+        middleware.insert_before ActiveRecord::SessionStore, ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::ConnectionManagement
+        middleware.insert_before ActiveRecord::SessionStore, ActiveRecord::QueryCache
+      else
+        middleware.use ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::ConnectionManagement
+        middleware.use ActiveRecord::QueryCache
+      end
+    end
+
+    initializer "active_record.load_observers" do
+      ActiveRecord::Base.instantiate_observers
+    end
+
+    # TODO: ActiveRecord::Base.logger should delegate to its own config.logger
+    initializer "active_record.logger" do
+      ActiveRecord::Base.logger ||= Rails.logger
+    end
+
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/railties/lib/rails/application.rb b/railties/lib/rails/application.rb
index 97f72b106b..9a5656fb1d 100644
--- a/railties/lib/rails/application.rb
+++ b/railties/lib/rails/application.rb
@@ -21,11 +21,7 @@ module Rails
       end
 
       def config
-        @config ||= begin
-          config = Configuration.new
-          Plugin.plugins.each { |p| config.merge(p.config) }
-          config
-        end
+        @config ||= Configuration.new(Plugin::Configuration.default)
       end
 
       # TODO: change the plugin loader to use config
@@ -122,10 +118,11 @@ module Rails
       initializers
     end
 
+    # TODO: Fix this method
     def plugins
       @plugins ||= begin
         plugin_names = config.plugins || [:all]
-        Plugin.plugins.select { |p| plugin_names.include?(p.plugin_name) } +
+        Plugin.plugins.select { |p| plugin_names.include?(:all) || plugin_names.include?(p.plugin_name) } +
         Plugin::Vendored.all(config.plugins || [:all], config.paths.vendor.plugins)
       end
     end
@@ -189,20 +186,9 @@ module Rails
       end
     end
 
-    # This initialization routine does nothing unless <tt>:active_record</tt>
-    # is one of the frameworks to load (Configuration#frameworks). If it is,
-    # this sets the database configuration from Configuration#database_configuration
-    # and then establishes the connection.
-    initializer :initialize_database do
-      if defined?(ActiveRecord)
-        ActiveRecord::Base.configurations = config.database_configuration
-        ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection
-      end
-    end
-
     # Include middleware to serve up static assets
     initializer :initialize_static_server do
-      if config.frameworks.include?(:action_controller) && config.serve_static_assets
+      if defined?(ActionController) && config.serve_static_assets
         config.middleware.use(ActionDispatch::Static, Rails.public_path)
       end
     end
@@ -268,7 +254,7 @@ module Rails
     # logger is already set, it is not changed, otherwise it is set to use
     # RAILS_DEFAULT_LOGGER.
     initializer :initialize_framework_logging do
-      for framework in [ :active_record, :action_controller, :action_mailer ]
+      for framework in [ :action_controller, :action_mailer ]
         # TODO BEFORE PUSHING: REMOVEZ
         begin
           framework.to_s.camelize.constantize.const_get("Base").logger ||= Rails.logger
@@ -293,7 +279,7 @@ module Rails
       require('active_support/whiny_nil') if config.whiny_nils
     end
 
-    # Sets the default value for Time.zone, and turns on ActiveRecord::Base#time_zone_aware_attributes.
+    # Sets the default value for Time.zone
     # If assigned value cannot be matched to a TimeZone, an exception will be raised.
     initializer :initialize_time_zone do
       if config.time_zone
@@ -307,11 +293,6 @@ module Rails
         end
 
         Time.zone_default = zone_default
-
-        if defined?(ActiveRecord)
-          ActiveRecord::Base.time_zone_aware_attributes = true
-          ActiveRecord::Base.default_timezone = :utc
-        end
       end
     end
 
@@ -331,7 +312,7 @@ module Rails
     # (Configuration#frameworks). The available settings map to the accessors
     # on each of the corresponding Base classes.
     initializer :initialize_framework_settings do
-      config.frameworks.each do |framework|
+      (config.frameworks - [:active_record, :action_controller]).each do |framework|
         # TODO BEFORE PUSHING: This needs to work differently
         begin
           base_class = framework.to_s.camelize.constantize.const_get("Base")
@@ -383,20 +364,6 @@ module Rails
       end
     end
 
-    # # Setup database middleware after initializers have run
-    initializer :initialize_database_middleware do
-      if defined?(ActiveRecord)
-        if defined?(ActionController) && ActionController::Base.session_store &&
-            ActionController::Base.session_store.name == 'ActiveRecord::SessionStore'
-          configuration.middleware.insert_before :"ActiveRecord::SessionStore", ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::ConnectionManagement
-          configuration.middleware.insert_before :"ActiveRecord::SessionStore", ActiveRecord::QueryCache
-        else
-          configuration.middleware.use ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::ConnectionManagement
-          configuration.middleware.use ActiveRecord::QueryCache
-        end
-      end
-    end
-
     # TODO: Make a DSL way to limit an initializer to a particular framework
 
     # # Prepare dispatcher callbacks and run 'prepare' callbacks
@@ -418,25 +385,6 @@ module Rails
       end
     end
 
-    # Routing must be initialized after plugins to allow the former to extend the routes
-    # ---
-    # If Action Controller is not one of the loaded frameworks (Configuration#frameworks)
-    # this does nothing. Otherwise, it loads the routing definitions and sets up
-    # loading module used to lazily load controllers (Configuration#controller_paths).
-    initializer :initialize_routing do
-      next unless configuration.frameworks.include?(:action_controller)
-      route_configuration_files << configuration.routes_configuration_file
-      route_configuration_files << configuration.builtin_routes_configuration_file
-      reload_routes!
-    end
-    #
-    # # Observers are loaded after plugins in case Observers or observed models are modified by plugins.
-    initializer :load_observers do
-      if defined?(ActiveRecord)
-        ActiveRecord::Base.instantiate_observers
-      end
-    end
-
     # Eager load application classes
     initializer :load_application_classes do
       next if $rails_rake_task
diff --git a/railties/lib/rails/configuration.rb b/railties/lib/rails/configuration.rb
index bf5b9478cc..086f67a419 100644
--- a/railties/lib/rails/configuration.rb
+++ b/railties/lib/rails/configuration.rb
@@ -5,22 +5,26 @@ module Rails
   # configuration class while this bit is being cleaned up.
   class Plugin::Configuration
 
-    def initialize
-      @options = Hash.new { |h,k| h[k] = ActiveSupport::OrderedOptions.new }
+    def self.default
+      @default ||= new
     end
 
-    def middleware
-      @middleware ||= ActionDispatch::MiddlewareStack.new
+    attr_reader :middleware
+
+    def initialize(base = nil)
+      if base
+        @options    = base.options.dup
+        @middleware = base.middleware.dup
+      else
+        @options    = Hash.new { |h,k| h[k] = ActiveSupport::OrderedOptions.new }
+        @middleware = ActionDispatch::MiddlewareStack.new
+      end
     end
 
     def respond_to?(name)
       super || name.to_s =~ config_key_regexp
     end
 
-    def merge(config)
-      @options = config.options.merge(@options)
-    end
-
   protected
 
     attr_reader :options
@@ -41,8 +45,7 @@ module Rails
     end
 
     def config_keys
-      ([ :active_support, :active_record, :action_controller,
-         :action_view, :action_mailer, :active_resource ] +
+      ([ :active_support, :action_view, :action_mailer, :active_resource ] +
         Plugin.plugin_names).map { |n| n.to_s }.uniq
     end
   end
@@ -60,7 +63,7 @@ module Rails
                 :log_level, :log_path, :paths, :routes_configuration_file,
                 :view_path
 
-    def initialize
+    def initialize(base = nil)
       super
       @load_once_paths              = []
       @after_initialize_blocks      = []
diff --git a/railties/lib/rails/plugin.rb b/railties/lib/rails/plugin.rb
index 90dc1ad8dd..0699affea7 100644
--- a/railties/lib/rails/plugin.rb
+++ b/railties/lib/rails/plugin.rb
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@ module Rails
   class Plugin
     include Initializable
 
-    def self.plugin_name
-      @plugin_name || name.demodulize.underscore
+    def self.plugin_name(plugin_name = nil)
+      @plugin_name ||= name.demodulize.underscore
+      @plugin_name = plugin_name if plugin_name
+      @plugin_name
     end
 
     def self.inherited(klass)
@@ -20,7 +22,7 @@ module Rails
     end
 
     def self.config
-      @config ||= Configuration.new
+      Configuration.default
     end
 
     class Vendored < Plugin
diff --git a/railties/test/application/initializer_test.rb b/railties/test/application/initializer_test.rb
index 8ed8e11c8f..2ecc3e9e2d 100644
--- a/railties/test/application/initializer_test.rb
+++ b/railties/test/application/initializer_test.rb
@@ -135,21 +135,9 @@ module ApplicationTests
       assert !Rails.application.config.middleware.include?(ActiveRecord::SessionStore)
     end
 
-    test "database middleware doesn't initialize when activerecord is not in frameworks" do
-      add_to_config <<-RUBY
-        config.root = "#{app_path}"
-        config.frameworks = []
-      RUBY
-      require "#{app_path}/config/environment"
-
-      assert_equal [], Rails.application.config.middleware
-    end
-
     test "database middleware initializes when session store is active record" do
-      add_to_config <<-RUBY
-        config.root = "#{app_path}"
-        config.action_controller.session_store = :active_record_store
-      RUBY
+      add_to_config "config.action_controller.session_store = :active_record_store"
+
       require "#{app_path}/config/environment"
 
       expects = [ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::ConnectionManagement, ActiveRecord::QueryCache, ActiveRecord::SessionStore]
@@ -157,16 +145,6 @@ module ApplicationTests
       assert_equal expects, middleware & expects
     end
 
-    test "ensure database middleware doesn't use action_controller on initializing" do
-      add_to_config <<-RUBY
-        config.root = "#{app_path}"
-        config.frameworks -= [:action_controller]
-        config.action_controller.session_store = :active_record_store
-      RUBY
-      require "#{app_path}/config/environment"
-
-      assert !Rails.application.config.middleware.include?(ActiveRecord::SessionStore)
-    end
     test "Rails.root should be a Pathname" do
       add_to_config <<-RUBY
         config.root = "#{app_path}"
@@ -175,4 +153,20 @@ module ApplicationTests
       assert_instance_of Pathname, Rails.root
     end
   end
+
+  class InitializerCustomFrameworkExtensionsTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
+    include ActiveSupport::Testing::Isolation
+
+    def setup
+      build_app
+      boot_rails
+    end
+
+    test "database middleware doesn't initialize when activerecord is not in frameworks" do
+      use_frameworks []
+      require "#{app_path}/config/environment"
+
+      assert !defined?(ActiveRecord)
+    end
+  end
 end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/railties/test/plugins/framework_extension_test.rb b/railties/test/plugins/framework_extension_test.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..87e19cadce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/railties/test/plugins/framework_extension_test.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+require "isolation/abstract_unit"
+
+module PluginsTest
+  class FrameworkExtensionTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
+    def setup
+      build_app
+      boot_rails
+    end
+
+    test "active_record extensions are applied to ActiveRecord" do
+      add_to_config "config.active_record.table_name_prefix = 'tbl_'"
+
+      require "#{app_path}/config/environment"
+
+      assert_equal 'tbl_', ActiveRecord::Base.table_name_prefix
+    end
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file