diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/testing/isolation.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/testing/isolation.rb
index 30e194536b..cdd6d5f49b 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/testing/isolation.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/testing/isolation.rb
@@ -31,10 +31,15 @@ module ActiveSupport
 
         @_result = result
 
-        proxy = run_in_isolation do |proxy|
-          super(proxy) { }
+        serialized = run_in_isolation do |proxy|
+          begin
+            super(proxy) { }
+          rescue Exception => e
+            proxy.add_error(Test::Unit::Error.new(name, e))
+          end
         end
 
+        proxy = Marshal.load(serialized)
         proxy.__replay__(@_result)
 
         yield(Test::Unit::TestCase::FINISHED, name)
@@ -55,7 +60,7 @@ module ActiveSupport
           write.close
           result = read.read
           Process.wait2(pid)
-          Marshal.load(result.unpack("m")[0])
+          return result.unpack("m")[0]
         end
       end
 
@@ -83,7 +88,7 @@ module ActiveSupport
               ENV.delete("ISOLATION_TEST")
               ENV.delete("ISOLATION_OUTPUT")
 
-              return Marshal.load(tmpfile.read.unpack("m")[0])
+              return tmpfile.read.unpack("m")[0]
             end
           end
         end
diff --git a/railties/lib/rails/application.rb b/railties/lib/rails/application.rb
index cadfc5010b..c70365e2f8 100644
--- a/railties/lib/rails/application.rb
+++ b/railties/lib/rails/application.rb
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 module Rails
   class Application
-    attr_accessor :routes, :config
+    attr_accessor :config
 
     def self.load(environment_file)
       environment = File.read(environment_file)
       Object.class_eval(environment, environment_file)
     end
 
-    def initialize
-      @routes = ActionController::Routing::Routes
+    def routes
+      ActionController::Routing::Routes
     end
 
     def middleware
diff --git a/railties/test/application/load_test.rb b/railties/test/application/load_test.rb
index f2041d54c2..079aa09460 100644
--- a/railties/test/application/load_test.rb
+++ b/railties/test/application/load_test.rb
@@ -1,17 +1,32 @@
 require "isolation/abstract_unit"
-require "rails"
-require 'action_dispatch'
+# require "rails"
+# require 'action_dispatch'
 
 module ApplicationTests
   class LoadTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     include ActiveSupport::Testing::Isolation
 
     def rackup
-      ActionDispatch::Utils.parse_config("#{app_path}/config.ru")
+      config = "#{app_path}/config.ru"
+      # Copied from ActionDispatch::Utils.parse_config
+      # ActionDispatch is not necessarily available at this point.
+      require 'rack'
+      if config =~ /\.ru$/
+        cfgfile = ::File.read(config)
+        if cfgfile[/^#\\(.*)/]
+          opts.parse! $1.split(/\s+/)
+        end
+        inner_app = eval "Rack::Builder.new {( " + cfgfile + "\n )}.to_app",
+                         nil, config
+      else
+        require config
+        inner_app = Object.const_get(::File.basename(config, '.rb').capitalize)
+      end
     end
 
     def setup
       build_app
+      boot_rails
     end
 
     test "rails app is present" do
diff --git a/railties/test/boot_test.rb b/railties/test/boot_test.rb
index 5b567e657c..f8f6d8f225 100644
--- a/railties/test/boot_test.rb
+++ b/railties/test/boot_test.rb
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ class VendorBootTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
 
   def test_load_initializer_requires_from_vendor_rails
     boot = VendorBoot.new
-    boot.expects(:require).with("rails/initializer")
+    boot.expects(:require).with("rails")
     Rails::Initializer.expects(:run).with(:install_gem_spec_stubs)
     Rails::GemDependency.expects(:add_frozen_gem_path)
     boot.load_initializer
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ class GemBootTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     boot = GemBoot.new
     GemBoot.expects(:load_rubygems)
     boot.expects(:load_rails_gem)
-    boot.expects(:require).with('rails/initializer')
+    boot.expects(:require).with('rails')
     boot.load_initializer
   end
 
diff --git a/railties/test/initializer/check_ruby_version_test.rb b/railties/test/initializer/check_ruby_version_test.rb
index 68feba058e..1852fea4df 100644
--- a/railties/test/initializer/check_ruby_version_test.rb
+++ b/railties/test/initializer/check_ruby_version_test.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
-require "initializer/test_helper"
+require "isolation/abstract_unit"
 
 module InitializerTests
   class PathsTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     include ActiveSupport::Testing::Isolation
 
+    def setup
+      build_app
+      boot_rails
+    end
+
     test "rails does not initialize with ruby version 1.8.1" do
       assert_rails_does_not_boot "1.8.1"
     end
diff --git a/railties/test/initializer/install_gem_spec_stubs_test.rb b/railties/test/initializer/install_gem_spec_stubs_test.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index cfb12d7405..0000000000
--- a/railties/test/initializer/install_gem_spec_stubs_test.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,86 +0,0 @@
-require "initializer/test_helper"
-
-module InitializerTests
-  class GemSpecStubsTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
-    include ActiveSupport::Testing::Isolation
-
-    def setup
-      $stderr = StringIO.new
-    end
-
-    test "user has an old boot.rb (defined by having no Rails.vendor_rails?)" do
-      class << Rails
-        undef vendor_rails?
-      end
-
-      assert_stderr(/outdated/) do
-        assert_raises(SystemExit) do
-          Rails::Initializer.run { |c| c.frameworks = [] }
-        end
-      end
-    end
-
-    test "requires rubygems" do
-      Kernel.module_eval do
-        alias old_require require
-        def require(name)
-          $rubygems_required = true if name == "rubygems"
-          old_require(name)
-        end
-      end
-
-      Rails.vendor_rails = true
-      Rails::Initializer.run { |c| c.frameworks = [] }
-      assert $rubygems_required
-    end
-
-    # Pending until we're further along
-    # test "does not fail if rubygems does not exist" do
-    #   Kernel.module_eval do
-    #     alias old_require require
-    #     def require(name)
-    #       raise LoadError if name == "rubygems"
-    #       old_require(name)
-    #     end
-    #   end
-    #
-    #   assert_nothing_raised do
-    #     Rails::Initializer.run { |c| c.frameworks = [] }
-    #   end
-    # end
-
-    test "adds fake Rubygems stubs if a framework is not loaded in Rubygems and we've vendored" do
-      Rails.vendor_rails = true
-
-      Rails::Initializer.run { |c| c.frameworks = [] }
-
-      %w(rails activesupport activerecord actionpack actionmailer activeresource).each do |stub|
-        gem_spec = Gem.loaded_specs[stub]
-        assert_equal Gem::Version.new(Rails::VERSION::STRING), gem_spec.version
-        assert_equal stub, gem_spec.name
-        assert_equal "", gem_spec.loaded_from
-      end
-    end
-
-    test "doesn't replace gem specs that are already loaded" do
-      Rails.vendor_rails = true
-
-      Gem.loaded_specs["rails"] = Gem::Specification.new do |s|
-        s.name = "rails"
-        s.version = Rails::VERSION::STRING
-        s.loaded_from = "/foo/bar/baz"
-      end
-
-      Rails::Initializer.run { |c| c.frameworks = [] }
-
-      assert_equal "/foo/bar/baz", Gem.loaded_specs["rails"].loaded_from
-
-      %w(activesupport activerecord actionpack actionmailer activeresource).each do |stub|
-        gem_spec = Gem.loaded_specs[stub]
-        assert_equal Gem::Version.new(Rails::VERSION::STRING), gem_spec.version
-        assert_equal stub, gem_spec.name
-        assert_equal "", gem_spec.loaded_from
-      end
-    end
-  end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/railties/test/initializer/path_test.rb b/railties/test/initializer/path_test.rb
index f3d70ad4ca..a4264bc31c 100644
--- a/railties/test/initializer/path_test.rb
+++ b/railties/test/initializer/path_test.rb
@@ -1,29 +1,36 @@
-require "initializer/test_helper"
+require "isolation/abstract_unit"
 
 class PathsTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
   include ActiveSupport::Testing::Isolation
 
-  def self.setup
+  def setup
+    build_app
+    boot_rails
     Rails::Initializer.run do |config|
       config.frameworks = [:action_controller, :action_view, :action_mailer, :active_record]
       config.after_initialize do
         ActionController::Base.session_store = nil
       end
     end
-  end
-
-  def setup
     @paths = Rails::Initializer.default.config.paths
   end
 
   def root(*path)
-    File.expand_path(File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), "root", *path))
+    app_path(*path).to_s
   end
 
   def assert_path(paths, *dir)
     assert_equal [root(*dir)], paths.paths
   end
 
+  def assert_in_load_path(*path)
+    assert $:.any? { |p| File.expand_path(p) == root(*path) }, "Load path does not include '#{root(*path)}'. They are:\n-----\n #{$:.join("\n")}\n-----"
+  end
+
+  def assert_not_in_load_path(*path)
+    assert !$:.any? { |p| File.expand_path(p) == root(*path) }, "Load path includes '#{root(*path)}'. They are:\n-----\n #{$:.join("\n")}\n-----"
+  end
+
   test "booting up Rails yields a valid paths object" do
     assert_path @paths.app, "app"
     assert_path @paths.app.metals, "app", "metal"
@@ -39,8 +46,7 @@ class PathsTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     assert_path @paths.config.locales, "config", "locales"
     assert_path @paths.config.environments, "config", "environments"
 
-    assert_equal Pathname.new(File.dirname(__FILE__)).join("root", "app", "controllers").expand_path,
-      Pathname.new(@paths.app.controllers.to_a.first).expand_path
+    assert_equal root("app", "controllers"), @paths.app.controllers.to_a.first
     assert_equal Pathname.new(File.dirname(__FILE__)).join("..", "..", "builtin", "rails_info").expand_path,
       Pathname.new(@paths.app.controllers.to_a[1]).expand_path
   end
@@ -56,24 +62,16 @@ class PathsTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     assert_equal "#{RAILS_ENV}.rb", @paths.config.environments.glob
   end
 
-  def assert_in_load_path(*path)
-    assert $:.any? { |p| File.expand_path(p) == root(*path) }, "Load path does not include '#{root(*path)}'. They are:\n-----\n #{$:.join("\n")}\n-----"
-  end
-
-  def assert_not_in_load_path(*path)
-    assert !$:.any? { |p| File.expand_path(p) == root(*path) }, "Load path includes '#{root(*path)}'. They are:\n-----\n #{$:.join("\n")}\n-----"
-  end
-
   test "load path includes each of the paths in config.paths as long as the directories exist" do
     assert_in_load_path "app"
     assert_in_load_path "app", "controllers"
-    assert_in_load_path "app", "metal"
     assert_in_load_path "app", "models"
     assert_in_load_path "app", "helpers"
     assert_in_load_path "lib"
     assert_in_load_path "vendor"
 
     assert_not_in_load_path "app", "views"
+    assert_not_in_load_path "app", "metal"
     assert_not_in_load_path "app", "services"
     assert_not_in_load_path "config"
     assert_not_in_load_path "config", "locales"
diff --git a/railties/test/isolation/abstract_unit.rb b/railties/test/isolation/abstract_unit.rb
index d3fc1f3395..bc1b43acaa 100644
--- a/railties/test/isolation/abstract_unit.rb
+++ b/railties/test/isolation/abstract_unit.rb
@@ -14,10 +14,6 @@ require 'test/unit'
 # TODO: Remove setting this magic constant
 RAILS_FRAMEWORK_ROOT = File.expand_path("#{File.dirname(__FILE__)}/../../..")
 
-# These load paths usually get set inside of boot.rb
-$:.unshift "#{RAILS_FRAMEWORK_ROOT}/railties/lib"
-$:.unshift "#{RAILS_FRAMEWORK_ROOT}/actionpack/lib"
-
 # These files do not require any others and are needed
 # to run the tests
 require "#{RAILS_FRAMEWORK_ROOT}/activesupport/lib/active_support/testing/isolation"
@@ -71,8 +67,23 @@ module TestHelpers
   end
 
   module Generation
-    def build_app
+    def build_app(options = {})
+      FileUtils.rm_rf(app_path)
       FileUtils.cp_r(tmp_path('app_template'), app_path)
+
+      # Delete the initializers unless requested
+      unless options[:initializers]
+        Dir["#{app_path}/config/initializers/*.rb"].each do |initializer|
+          File.delete(initializer)
+        end
+      end
+
+      environment = File.read("#{app_path}/config/environment.rb")
+      if environment =~ /(\n\s*end\s*)\Z/
+        File.open("#{app_path}/config/environment.rb", 'w') do |f|
+          f.puts $` + %'\nconfig.action_controller.session = { :key => "_myapp_session", :secret => "bac838a849c1d5c4de2e6a50af826079" }\n' + $1
+        end
+      end
     end
 
     def app_file(path, contents)
@@ -84,6 +95,23 @@ module TestHelpers
     def controller(name, contents)
       app_file("app/controllers/#{name}_controller.rb", contents)
     end
+
+    def boot_rails
+      # return if defined?(RAILS)
+      # TODO: Get this working with boot.rb
+      $:.unshift "#{RAILS_FRAMEWORK_ROOT}/railties/lib"
+      Object.class_eval <<-RUBY
+        RAILS_ROOT = "#{app_path}"
+        module ::Rails
+          def self.vendor_rails?
+            true
+          end
+        end
+      RUBY
+      require "rails"
+      Rails::Initializer.run(:install_gem_spec_stubs)
+      Rails::GemDependency.add_frozen_gem_path
+    end
   end
 end