It looks like the core of the point solenoid has suffered a thermo-magnetic transference. This is most likely due to the capacitor discharge unit being left in a charged state when the layout was last used (5 years ago) and the layout having been stored in a room where the temperature has regularly cycled.
The screwdriver blade and the split-washers are acting as sacrificial balancing components which restore the non-magnetic equilibrium of the solenoid core thus making it operable again.
If it isn't that....I don't know what it is.
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