Hop on the LIRR to station art exhibits

If you can't make it to an art museum, some routes along the Long Island Rail Road offer a travelers' art exhibit.

On any weekdaystart your trip at Greenport and head west on the 12:58 p.m. train. At 2:22 p.m. you'll arrive at Ronkonkoma, where you can check out Alice Adams' "Planting."

The work, installed in 1995, is an arrangement of trees planted in rows, concrete planters, and brick walls working in harmony to create a tribute to Long Island's nurseries and tree farms, which played an important role in Long Island's growth. MTA officials acknowledge that some landscaping elements have fallen into disrepair.

Adams' goal was "to create an ensemble of functional and sculptural forms that is unique and specific to the region and together with the architectural structures makes a place that is memorable," according to the MTA.

Catch the 3:11 p.m. westbound train out of Ronkonkoma and hop off at Hicksville at 3:49.Once there, head into the waiting room, where you'll find Roy Nicholson's "Morning Transit, Hempstead Plain & Evening Transit, Hempstead Plain."

The glass mosaic, installed in 2002, takes the viewer back to the days when Hicksville was largely a prairie plain.

Through his patterns and color choices, Nicholson captures the setting as if seen from a moving train. The soft green and blue hues depict the morning sunrise, and the red and blue hues show the sunset.

"Each commuter imagines his or her own personal scenery," Nicholson told the MTA. "One can look at it over and over again and discover new images."

Board the 4:23 p.m. train in Hicksville and arrive at Atlantic Terminal in Brooklynat 5:10.In the terminal's atrium, feast your eyes on Allan and Ellen Wexler's grand "Outlook," which was completed in 2009.

The two-story sculptural balcony features hundreds of white granite cantilevers that jump out at viewers, suggesting the kind of scenic overlooks usually found in national parks.

"We wanted to create a space where one can stop and take in the dynamic energy, which is as exciting as stopping to take in the Grand Canyon or other major vistas," Ellen Wexler told the MTA.

Head back on the 5:23 p.m. train-- the last train to Greenport for the day. At 8:17 p.m. you'll arrive home at a station that looks quite different from the one from which you departed.

Anita Thacher's "Illuminated Station" features an array of lighting and projection techniques that are best viewed after dark.

The station house's roof is outlined with blue LED lights. A deeper blue light envelops surrounding areas. Warm yellow lights inside the building suggest candlelight or gaslight.

And an American Indian pictograph is projected on the station walls and roof, paying homage to the earliest Long Islanders.

"Through each work the past meets the present," according to the MTA's description of the project. "And a special place in the community is made more meaningful by the artist."