Invented by George Morton of nearby Bartlett, the Skimobile opened in December of 1938, only two years after the first chairlift in the world was installed. After visiting the chairlift installed at Belknap Mountain in Gilford, New Hampshire, Morton realized he disliked his feet dangling in the air as he rode. Drawing his inspiration from the San Francisco cable cars he had heard about, Morton decided to develop a ski lift that ran on tracks. Morton's son, Parker, had recently graduated from the Wentworth Institute in Boston, and his engineering training was critical for the lift's design. Morton and his son tinkered with a number of designs for their new lift. Originally, Morton planned the lift to allow skiers to ride the lift while wearing their skis, but he feared lines would grow too long. Morton's daughter began helping the development by sitting in different positions at the dining room table while carrying her skis. Finally, the design was completed, and the trestle was laid. The cars were built in Massachusetts and shipped to Conway for painting by the Mortons.

Following a hectic summer of trial and error in the Mortons' shop, 150 cars painted red, white and blue carried skiers halfway up the mountain that first winter.

The Skimobile was a revolution. The 1,800-foot lift offered skiers unparalleled speed. On New Year's Day, 1939, it carried 1,065 passengers at a rate of approximately 255 skiers per hour.

Although the Skimobile arrived at Cranmore the winter before the Schneider family, the new lift was critical in implementing Schneider's first suggestion, which was to expand to the summit of the mountain. In 1939, a second trestle was added, and the Skimobile made its first trip to the summit of Mount Cranmore; more than 200 people visited the summit that day.

The unique lift quickly became an attraction unto itself, and the resort began running the lift during the summer. The scenic rides continued until the Skimobile was finally laid to rest in 1988. The high-speed quad that replaced the Skimobile, the Skimobile Express, bears its name in reverence to Morton's invention.