diff --git a/railties/lib/commands/console.rb b/railties/lib/commands/console.rb
index edffe4f1e6fc2..2b9d92f647edb 100644
--- a/railties/lib/commands/console.rb
+++ b/railties/lib/commands/console.rb
@@ -24,9 +24,9 @@
 end
 
 if options[:sandbox]
-  puts "Loading #{ENV['RAILS_ENV']} environment in sandbox (Rails #{Rails::VERSION::STRING})"
+  puts "Loading #{ENV['RAILS_ENV']} environment in sandbox (Rails #{Rails.version})"
   puts "Any modifications you make will be rolled back on exit"
 else
-  puts "Loading #{ENV['RAILS_ENV']} environment (Rails #{Rails::VERSION::STRING})"
+  puts "Loading #{ENV['RAILS_ENV']} environment (Rails #{Rails.version})"
 end
 exec "#{options[:irb]} #{libs} --simple-prompt"
diff --git a/railties/lib/initializer.rb b/railties/lib/initializer.rb
index dfd43042be360..2e564859897c1 100644
--- a/railties/lib/initializer.rb
+++ b/railties/lib/initializer.rb
@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@ def cache
       RAILS_CACHE
     end
 
+    def version
+      VERSION::STRING
+    end
+
     def public_path
       @@public_path ||= self.root ? File.join(self.root, "public") : "public"
     end