Hi Tom.
What's the glue mix you're using. We use a thinner water/glue mix (2 or 3 parts water to 1 part glue) instead of the normal 50/50 mix, plus we wet everything down with "wet water" before applying the glue so it flows into the ballast quickly. You can pick the ballast off if you try, but it remains stable under normal operation. The glue is less dense and doesn't seem to transmit as much noise, though the sections with Gargraves track make noise because of the hollow rails. At home, it will all be solid rail (just haven't decided which track to use).
