That's not normal at all. In fact, I think the "shorting bars" have been assembled upside down. Someone has definitely been in there playing without knowing what they were doing.
If you look at the copper pieces that are just to the right of the tape in your photos, compare it to the pictures on this page:
http://www.archaicarcane.com/singerattheraces/
They look upside down to me, which might cause them to short unexpectedly, causing someone to put an insulator between them?