The late 1870s saw the building of New Mexico's first railroad, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. As construction proceeded south from Raton Pass, survey crews were trying to find a site for a planned locomotive maintenance facility. Meanwhile, real estate speculators in Albuquerque hoped to profit from the railroad's arrival. Three local businessmen, Franz Huning, Elias S. Stover, and William Hazeldine, formed the New Mexico Town Company to buy up land for the railroad and related development. Ultimately the company was able to assemble a parcel which today is known as the Albuquerque Original Townsite. However, the site was actually a considerable distance from the existing community around the plaza—about —which meant that in effect the new development was a completely separate town. It became known as New Albuquerque, or just New Town.