Lone gunman:
I'd bet those flying splices were from previous connector failures. Probably done by a maint. guy or homeowner, as I would think any EC with standards would do exactly as you did, and remake tham all in 1900's with proper connections.
Kudos to you for doing the right thing!!
By the way, it looks like the main cause (other than crappy design) of the failures was corrosion.
