Adam,I think that what is in the photo is actually correct practice. Any large metal components in the structure get bonded to the lightning system ground path. I don't believe that the railing is the only path to ground. There must be direct paths to ground somewhere else. When the lightning guys installed the protection system at my house, even my garage door rails got bonded to the ground system, as well as the I-beam in the center of the basement, even though it's 40+ feet below the roof line, and sitting in the cement block walls at both ends. They explained that in the event of a a nearby lightning strike, isolated metal pieces can develop high potentials at their ends by induction, which can cause arcs to other things, like people, so these big pieces get bonded to ground as well.
Dave
Here's what a "professional" did on my last project. This is not a gag photo. The lightning rod was really tied directly to a handrail. http://www.hot-streamer.com/adam/temp/IMG_0385.JPG Of course if you're holding onto this handrail, proper grounding wouldn't really matter much. Adam
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