Hi,
Welcome aboard!
I was O Gauge only, until I was exposed to Standard Gauge by the Standard Gauge Module Association at the TCA Convention in Pittsburgh in July 2017. They had a huge layout and seeing these big trains on a big layout made a big impression, plus finding out the reproductions had Protosounds, smoke, and cruise control blew my mind.
After I got home I thought about it every day until I pulled the trigger, I bought a Blue Comet set and joined SGMA. Since then I have bought more STG trains, put up display shelves, and set up a small temporary layout.
What part of the country are you in?
Here are two videos of that TCA SGMA Convention layout that’s blew my mind: