It's possible that it gets cheaper in winter. My wife and I did exactly this trip but around christmas-time and it was fantastic. IIRC we paid a similar price but for the little cabin instead of the chair car.

A lot of American friends were surprised we were doing this - they had this idea that it would be uncomfortable and boring. They just couldn't have been more wrong. Between the comfortable room-ette things, often very friendly and varied fellow travellers, surprisingly tasty food and absolutely amazing scenery, it's a fond memory.

Of course, we scheduled in plenty of time - if you need to be somewhere punctually, Amtrak is not really your best bet.

Yea I didn't know this existed! Looks great.

Or be Sheldon Cooper.