another view is that the name was an insult. in 1891, the railway from quorn reached oodnadatta. this was home to about 150 cameleers, known as 'afghans'. 'the ghan express' name was used by train crews in the 1890s as a joke because, when an expensive sleeping car was put on from quorn to oodnadatta, 'on the first return journey the only passenger was an afghan'. as early as 1924, it was known as 'the afghan express' because it was so unreliable, often days, or weeks late. by 1951, when steam engines were replaced by diesel-electric locomotives, the insult of the names, like the cameleers, had faded away. modern marketing has turned the name into a term of pride in its heritage.