A large piece of Amesbury’s automotive history, more than a ton for sure, is back in town after more than 100 years and it’s less than a half-mile from where it was built.
An electric Victoria Phaeton, manufactured in 1911 by S.R. Bailey & Co. in Amesbury, was purchased recently by Jonathan Bailey, great-grandson of Colonel Bailey, the man who ran the former carriage factory.
The car, which runs perfectly after an extensive restoration, now resides in an empty first-floor room in the Bartley Building in the Lower Millyard, not far from the former factory on Chestnut Street where it was built. The factory, near Elm Street, currently houses automotive upholstery maker LeBaron Bonney Company.
The Victoria Phaeton has taken its place next to a whalebone road wagon built by S.R. Bailey & Co. in 1897.
Bart Bailey, who has lived in Amesbury all his life, said it is one of only four Bailey electric cars left in existence and marks the second owned by his family. Bailey said he has owned a 1913 Bailey Electric Roadster since 2008 after purchasing it at a bankruptcy auction.
The new addition was won in November at an auction in Dallas, Texas, by Jonathan Bailey, with help from other family members. Bailey declined to reveal the price other than it cost more than its original 1911 price tag of $2,500.
"I don't think anyone would conceive that two of them would be back in the family," Bailey said. "It's pretty exciting."
The other two Bailey electric cars known to exist are in the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline and the Frick Museum in Pennsylvania, according to Bailey.
Bailey said the Phaeton, which runs on an extremely heavy, 60-volt DC battery built by General Electric, can reach speeds of up to 30 mph and can travel about 100 miles on a single battery charge. To put that in perspective, Bailey said, the current electric cars, including the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, can travel roughly the same distance on a single charge.
"Not much different than today," Bailey said.
Bailey conceded the electric cars of today can go faster and have a full array of safety features the Phaeton lacks. But he remarked about how little has changed 100 years later in terms of electric cars.
Bailey said his family hopes to add the Phaeton to the collection of the nearby Carriage Museum located next to the Department of Public Works garage. The museum building, owned by the Carriage Museum and the Amesbury Chamber of Commerce, remains virtually empty years after it was purchased and renovated. It is hoped by many in town that the museum will be one of the cornerstones of a transformed Lower Millyard following the relocation of the DPW garage.
In the meantime, the Victoria Phaeton could be shown off during special occasions, including the yearly, week-long Amesbury Days festival or even family gatherings where both electric cars can be admired by generations of his family, Bailey said.
"That's the goal, we're trying to have them out," Bailey said.
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